


A Girl and Her Bike: Volume 1

by SwapAUAnon



Series: A Girl and Her Bike [2]
Category: RWBY, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Action/Adventure, Adam's a piece of garbage, Family, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 85,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22353946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwapAUAnon/pseuds/SwapAUAnon
Summary: On her 17th birthday, Yang Xiao Long got a motorcycle to celebrate going another year without getting killed by Grimm. However, what was meant to be a simple gift ended up bringing a war to the Rose/Xiao Long's doorstep. Now, between the Grimm, Atlesian Military, White Fang, and Decepticons, Yang and Bumblebee have their work cut out for them.
Series: A Girl and Her Bike [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609120
Comments: 15
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue: Welcome to Remnant

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little something I wanted to do after realizing that there aren't a lot of RWBY/Transformers crossovers in spite of the fact that the two franchises mesh together surprisingly well.

* * *

_Red like roses fill my dreams and brings me to the place you rest._

* * *

B-127 groaned as a red light flashed in his stasis pod. He pushed open the lid of the pod as his blue optics opened. He stretched his metal limbs with a yawn and gradually rose to his feet, stepping out of the pod and onto the soft ground.

"Alright Optimus," he started, "I'm ready to…" He paused when he noticed that he was no longer in the Ark. "By the AllSpark." The tiny Autobot glanced around his surroundings. His pod was partially buried at the bottom of a deep hole, and dark clouds blotted out the sky. "Well, might as well see what caused my pod to wake me up." B-127 walked over to his pod, and noticed that the homing beacon had been torn right out of the rusted metal. "Great, now how am I gonna find my way back to the Ark?" he groaned before looking up at the sky above. "Nowhere to go but up."

B-127 let out a sigh of relief as soon as he pulled himself out of the hole.

"Hopefully my homing beacon isn't too far from here," he remarked as he dusted off his hands and scanned the treeline, "The sooner I can find the others, the be-"

" _Intruder, identify yourself!_ " a computerized voice ordered. B-127 groaned as 12 black robots with red visors stepped out of the treeline to surround him, each one holding a gun in its hands. A quick scan indicated that they were Sparkless drones. Simple mathematics indicated that each of the drones was half his height.

"I'm B-127 of the Autobot Resistance," the Autobot answered, "I mean you no harm."

"B-127, you are intruding on a Military excavation site," one of the drones replied, "By order of Specialist Winter Schnee, you are hereby under arrest. Step out of the mecha and put your hands in the air or we will open fire.."

"I can do the second…" B-127 remarked as he raised his hands in the air, "I don't want any trou-" The drones opened fire, and their shots plinked harmlessly on the Autobot's Projected Spark Field. "So that's how it's gonna be." An insectoid mask covered B-127's face as he deployed blasters from his wrists. "Sorry about this," he remarked, even if he knew the drones weren't alive and wouldn't feel a thing. Each blaster fired off six shots, and all twelve drones were reduced to smoking heaps. "Now to find that homing bea-"

"What is going on here?!"

* * *

_White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test._

* * *

Winter Schnee was not having a good day. Between being sent to investigate an excavation on Patch which had _apparently_ uncovered a bomb from the great war only for said "bomb" to not only not have any Dust in it, but to also start beeping incessantly once she had "disarmed" it, she was having a bad day. With the rumors of White Fang sightings and increased Grimm activity that could only be drawn to what had been dug up, she was having a horrible week. So when a giant bipedal mech had climbed out of the hole and destroyed her Atlesian Knights, she was on her last nerve.

 _If not for my embarrassment of a mother I'd be reaching for a flask right now,_ she thought as she approached the mecha.

"They started it," the mecha's seemingly youthful pilot replied, retracting its weapons.

"Step out of the mecha _now_ before I rip you out of it!" Winter shouted as she pointed her saber at the yellow mecha.

"Considering that I am the mecha, that's gonna be kinda hard to do," the voice replied. The wasp-like mask opened and retracted to reveal a face that was far too human for Winter's comfort. The mecha's hand went to scratch the back of its head as it flashed her an uneasy and _far too human smile_. "Sorry about your drones, by the way," the mecha replied, "I didn't want to trash your things, but I'd rather minimize damage to my Projected Spark Field in case something actually dangerous happens."

"Your what?" Winter asked, lowering her saber as she quirked an eyebrow.

"My Projected Spark Field," the mecha replied with a shrug, "Y'know, that thing where you shield your body with your very essence? Some folks even get superpowers out of it?"

" _You have Aura!_ " Winter shouted. There was a day she would've written that off as impossible, but considering Pietro's pet project…

"Is that the local term?" the robot asked, "Anyway, if this misunderstanding has been cleared up, I'd like to figure out who ripped off a part of my stasis pod, because that's kinda important." Winter took a deep breath. Given that this robot had referred to Aura as a "Local Term", that meant that it probably wasn't from Remnant. So, she decided to press it for more intel.

"What was taken from your 'stasis pod'?" she asked.

"A homing beacon," the robot replied, "I need it to find my ship."

"And what's on your ship?" Winter pressed, "Why do you need to find it?"

"Oh, that's just standard procedure," the robot replied, "Ordinarily, my stasis pod would try to reestablish a connection with the ship when its ejected, mostly to determine whether or not its safe to wake me up, but considering the rust..."

"What is on your ship?" Winter repeated, pointing her saber at the robot, "Do not dodge the question."

"Oh! Uh let's see, there's a lot of classified stuff I'm not allowed to talk about, which was probably destroyed in the crash," the robot started, "the stasis ward, which was probably destroyed in the crash, Teletraan-1, which I _hope_ wasn't destroyed in the crash, the arsenal, which might have caused the crash, the-"

"What kind of weapons do you have in your arsenal?" Winter asked, her grip on her weapon tightening.

"Erm... Aside from a bunch of standard-issue ion rifles and some random tech I don't know the name of, that's mostly classified," B-127 replied, "Can't risk that information getting to our enemies, I'm sure you under-"Winter stabbed her saber into the ground, and engulfed the robot's body in a blizzard.

B-127 shielded his face with his arms as a flakes of frozen water flew through the air in a blizzard localized entirely in the immediate area around him.

"Oh, so that's her Distinction," the Autobot remarked, then froze as a soulless eyes gazed at him through the storm. A lupine form, seemingly made of ice and fog, lunged forward. B-127 deployed his wrist-mounted blades and slashed through the creature, his eyes widening when the creature dissolved into nothing. "Oh… That's not normal…" He deployed his battle mask and traded out his left blade for the wrist-mounted blasters, with more soulless, blue eyes gazing out of the darkness at him. He raised his left arm and fired off shots at the eyes. He heard growls coming from behind, and swung around to slice through the creatures. "No Sparks, but I've never seen organic drones before." A screech sounded from overhead, and B-127 raised up an arm to shield his head from a barrage of dagger-like feathers, their source being an icy avian whose head was covered in what appeared to be a helmet of some kind. B-127 fired off several shots as the avian swooped down at him, talons first. B-127, realizing that the head was the only part of the creature that was armored, thrust his blade forward. Rather than take the bait, the avian creature course-corrected to do another fly-by. The Autobot grimaced as the dagger-like feathers and the freezing cold continued to whittle away at his Projected Spark Field. _Scrap, I can't keep this up!_ B-127 thought, _I need to get out of here!_ He lunged forward, the pieces of his body shifting and folding into a small, dual-wheeled vehicle.

Winter Schnee watched the dome of swirling snow as the soldiers under her command lined up behind her.

"Remember, we need to capture it alive!" Winter ordered, "My Summons should have weakened it enough to ensure minimal resistance!" Right as she said this, a yellow, riderless motorcycle with no seat burst from the localized blizzard, and fell right back into the hole. "What the-" The motorcycle shifted and unfolded back into the bipedal robot from before.

"Hey, there's no need for the cold shoulder!" the robot shouted. Winter growled and formed a Glyph line with claw marks and fangs.

"Open fire!" she ordered as the snow storm finally dispersed and her Nevermore Summon flew up above the hole to send in more feathers.

B-127 struggled as his feet refused to budge.

"Why does it feel like my feet are suddenly cuffed up?" he questioned. He got his answer when the soldiers opened fire, forcing him to duck down and shield his head with his hands With nowhere to look but down, he noticed the Glyph, and the clawed hands reaching out of it to hold his feet down. "Well, that's a flexible Distinction," he murmured, "I wonder…"

Winter's jaw dropped as the robot dropped its guard, deployed it's wrist-mounted guns, and shot her Glyph. The blast was strong enough to dispel the Glyph and partially-summoned Beowolves, letting the robot fold back into a motorcycle and drive along the edge of the hole, which in turn broke off a lot of the ice. It gradually picked up more and more speed, allowing it to scale the walls as it kicked up more and more dust.

"Stop it!" she shouted, "Don't let it escape!" Her Nevermore Summon divebombed the motorcycle as her soldier's bullets plinked of the machine's aura, only for it to unfold back into a robot, kick off the wall, deploy a blade from its left wrist and a double-barreled gun from its right, stab the Nevermore's underbelly, and then fire its gun into the Summon's body around the stab wound. The Nevermore dissolved, and the robot flew right towards her. " _Shit!_ "

B-127 was quite surprised when he hit another white Glyph instead of barrelling into the organic being's body. Her Projected Spark Field would've shielded her from any serious damage, but that probably would've taken her out of the fight and made escaping easier.

"You've got one versatile Distinction," he noted, "Wanna see mine?"

"What?" the organic sputtered out. B-127 answered her question by channeling his Projected Spark Field through his right hand, and a translucent, blue Stinger materialized in the palm of his hand.

"Sorry about this!" B-127 remarked, before jabbing his stinger forward. The organic raised her blade to parry, but the Autobot's Distinction needed to only scratch her Projected Spark Field to trigger.

Winter froze, both literally and figuratively as her Aura hardened around her.

"Seeya!" the robot snipped before folding back into a motorcycle and speeding off into the woods, leaving the Atlesian Specialist trapped by her own soul. Fortunately for Winter, the robot's Semblance wore off after only a few seconds.

"What the hell? How does that thing have a _Semblance_?" _Did that mean that the prototype…_ Winter shook her head. "Fan out now! We are not letting that _thing_ get away!"

_Gotta find my homing beacon, gotta find my homing beacon, gotta find my homing beacon_ , B-127 repeated the mantra in his processors as he weaved between the trees, _Why didn't I memorize the fragging frequency when I had the chance?_ While the Autobot pondered his terrible life decisions, he came upon a clearing with a white tent in the center, surrounded by soldiers wearing the same armor as the ones whom had been accompanying the organic being from before. "What the Scrap?" He swiftly transformed back into his robot mode, stumbled across the ground, and collided with the fabric of the tent.

The structure of the tent collapsed on top of the Autobot, leaving him grumbling and cursing as it wrapped around his mechanisms. B-127 struggled against the cables and poles as he deployed both of his wrist-mounted blades, cutting his way out of the fabric, cables, and poles. As the tattered ruins of the tent settled around him, Bumblebee scanned his surroundings. The soldiers seemed to have shaken off their confusion and bafflement and were raising their guns to point at him. Among the ruins of the tent were pieces of destroyed furniture, scattered paper, what used to be fragile equipment, and a silver disk with a black screen on the front.

"There it is!" B-127 announced as he picked up his homing beacon, "Now let's see, it appears to still be working, which means Teletraan-1 is still functional, so time to figure out where the others are and…" His voice trailed off as red eyes peered at him and the soldiers from the darkness between the trees. One of the soldiers lowered his gun and glanced over his shoulder as something growled.

* * *

_Black the beast descends from shadows._

* * *

"Grimm!

As if on cue, multiple, lupine, shadowy creatures emerged from the darkness. Each one had bone like spikes and claws, yellow pupils, red veins, and what appeared to be a skull-like helmet.

"Relax, it's just a pack of Beowolves!" one of the soldiers remarked while casually shooting one in the chest multiple times, it's body dissolving before it could reach him, "I hear Specialist Schnee fights these to blow off steam."

"Damn it, of all the days to not pack lightning rounds!" another of the soldiers shouted as he stabbed one of the creatures in the eye. B-127 scowled as he scanned the beasts, noticing that, much like the ones that had attacked him before, they didn't have Sparks.

"What is with this world's wildlife?" he muttered as he attached the homing beacon to his back, "Well, I'm not going to look a gift altmode under the hood." He shifted back into vehicle mode, the homing beacon now sitting on top of his vehicle mode, and sped into the woods, barreling right through a Beowolf that had somehow managed to break through a soldier's Projected Spark Field. "I seriously hope Optimus knows how we can get out of this mess."

Winter Schnee growled as she sliced through Beowolf after Beowolf with her saber's separated blades.

"If I ever see that stupid machine again, I'm going to give it a piece of my-" she paused as she heard the roar of a motorcycle's engine, then noticed a yellow, riderless motorcycle speeding through the trees. "Speak of the Grimm…" She smirked as she conjured up a Glyph depicting a lionine face, wings decorating the edges. A Manticore climbed out of the Glyph with a low growl, and fired off a blast of blue flame where the vehicle was heading. The robot let out a cry of pain as the blue flames struck it dead and center. The vehicle tumbled and unfolded as the tell-tale flicker of its Aura breaking covered its body. A stray lightning round hit its body at the same time.

"We've broken its Aura!" Winter shouted, "Finish off the Grimm so we can capture this thing!"

* * *

A red Atlesian dropship flew through the sky, no pilot at the controls, as a blip appeared on its radar.

"Dropkick, report!" a voice echoed from within the dropship, "I just detected an Autobot energy signature!"

* * *

"Are you sure you're not going senile in your old age, Shatter?" a blue and black armored car asked as it drove down a Valean highway, "There's nothing on this fragging planet but squishy humans, squishy humans with animal bits stapled on them, and those blasted Grimm that attack everyone but Starscream and the beasts."

" _We were sparked one week apart you bucket of bolts!_ " Shatter's voice replied through the radio, " _It came from the island of Patch. Find a place to shift into Bullhead mode and meet me at our usual meeting spot! If we hurry, we can kill the Autobot before Starscream swoops in and takes all the credit!_ "

"Great, I'll meetcha there as soon as I can get off this highway," Dropkick replied, "Hey, do you need me to grab anything on the way there? Dust might be completely useless off world, but they make for some very interesting ways of popping squishy organics when you mix them with Energon rounds!"

" _Oh get your finger off the trigger and meet me at Patch!_ "

"All right, all right, no need to get your circuits in a twist!" Dropkick replied, "I'll be there in a couple of hours, this next exit leads to a road I can take to an abandoned village. Maybe they didn't bother burying their dead before fleeing this time!"

"… _You have issues, Dropkick._ "

* * *

B-127 shifted back into vehicle mode, cursing mentally with every second.

 _Scrap scrap scrap, someone_ had _to have noticed that energy wave_ , he thought to himself as he weaved between the trees, _Looks like I'll have to stash my homing beacon somewhere and lay low until my Projected Spark Field can recharge._ He soon came to a tree near a lot full of vehicles, a rock under its roots.

"Welp, it's better than nothing," he remarked, before shifting back into robot mode. B-127 detached the homing beacon from his back and dropped it to the ground. The rock was removed from its place, the homing beacon shoved into the hole under the tree, and the hole haphazardly covered by the same rock he had removed.

"It went this way!" he heard the commanding organic shout.

"Okay, time to throw them off my trail," B-127 muttered as he dashed for the lot on foot.

The Autobot''s optics glanced nervously from vehicle to vehicle as the voices of the pursuing soldiers got louder and louder.

 _Why aren't any of these things compatible with my build?_ B-127 wondered as he mentally tallied the number of cars and trucks, _What do I have to do to get a-_ he saw a bunch of motorcycles on the other side of the lot, an empty spot between two of them. _Bingo!_ He jumped onto the lot, transforming into vehicle mode before hitting the ground, and rushed over to the free space. As soon as he was comfortably parked between them, he scanned one, and felt his body shift as the external circuitry was covered by metal panels, a seat formed on the back, and his front shifted to accommodate controls for a driver.

"Remember, the motorcycle we're looking for doesn't have a seat!" Winter announced as she and her soldiers filled the lot, not noticing that one of the motorcycles put down its own kickstand without a rider, "We cannot let that machine escape!" B-127 silently chuckled.

_Good luck with that!_

* * *

Eventually, the soldiers moved on, B-127's Projected Spark Field recharged, and morning came.

 _Okay, I just have to wait for these organics to lock up for the night, then I can sneak away while nobody's looking, grab my homing beacon, and I'll be home free_ , the Autobot planned as the owner of the lot led a trio of organics around the lot. One of them was a blond, adult male, the other was a long-haired female with a lot of yellow, and the last was a young female primarily clad in black and red. _As long as I blend in, I don't have to worry about a_ \- Murphy decided to punish B-127's hubris in that moment, as the older of the two females singled him out. The Autobot bit down a yelp of surprise as he felt a comparatively light weight on the seat in his new altmode.

"I think I'll take this one sir!" the long-haired female announced, "I dunno, something about the paint job just speaks to me."

* * *

_Yellow beauty burns..._

_Gold._

* * *

_Scrap…_ B-127 thought as the garage door of the Rose/Xiao Long household closed in front of him, _This just got a lot more complicated_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter's paranoia and lack of chill were inspired by how she acted in her debut, and how her mentor figure acts. While this is taking inspiration from "Bumblebee", and was originally basically "Bumblebee's solo film, but set on Remnant", I've reworked my plans for the story. The homing beacon is the result of me needing something to drive the plot after deciding against giving B-127 amnesia, while B-127's Semblance was inspired by Bumblebee's "Stinger" weapon from Cyberverse. Also, in case it wasn't obvious from the tags and the fact that Yang's only just now getting her motorcycle, this is set BEFORE the first chapter of Volume 1 of RWBY. Finally, while I am drawing from "Bumblebee" as my main source of inspiration, I will be taking various ideas from multiple Transformers continuities.  
> Tune in next time, where the Rose/Xiao Longs learn that victory is in A Simple Spark.  
> Update 3/20/2020: This prologue was slightly tweaked to remove the Rotary Dust Chamber on Winter's Saber and make it more like her Saber on the show. This included replacing the Lightning Slash with Winter's Manticore Summon from "The Enemy of Trust" (which hadn't aired yet when I first published this Prologue). Don't worry, I WILL find some way to bring back the Lightning Slash. In case you're wondering, the Freeze Glyph that trapped B-127 in the hole was a Gravity Glyph in the first published version. I kept the Nevermore as full-sized instead of miniature because I couldn't figure out a good way to incorporate the Mini-Nevermores from canon, but I will probably use those in the future. I also decided to tweak Winter's entry scene to make her mounting fear and frustration more apparent, with her misreading B-127's statement as a threat being the tipping point. I hope this is still an enjoyable read!  
> Update 4/24/2020: Removed all of Winter's elemental Glyphs and added B-127 getting shot to explain the energy wave.  
> Update 5/26/2020: Just added three words to Dropkick's statement about Remnant for narrative cohesion.


	2. Chapter 1: A Simple Spark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. This chapter put up a bit of a fight.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

A hand slammed down on the sleep button hard enough to crack the plastic casing.

"Ugh…" the girl in the bed groaned, "There goes another alarm clock…" She forced herself to roll onto her back, pushed herself up, and slid her feet into her slippers. She rose to her feet, and slowly shuffled out of the room, intent on getting some breakfast. Or lunch. Or supper depending on how long she had been asleep fo-

"SURPRISE!" a silver eyed girl with blood red hair shouted, "Happy- Eep!" she ducked to avoid the reflexive right hook the half-awake girl had thrown at her.

"Ruby?" said girl remarked, now fully awake, "How long have you been waiting outside my room?"

"That's completely irrelevant!" Ruby announced as she sprang back up, "You only turn seventeen once, and it's my job to make sure you don't sleep through it!" The silver eyed girl grinned as the blond haired girl's eyes briefly flashed red.

"It's too early for this," she announced before heading for the kitchen.

"Yang, wait up!" Ruby shouted as she dashed ahead of the girl in a burst of rose petals, coming to a stop a few feet in front of her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to pour myself a bowl of cereal," Yang answered.

"On your birthday?" Ruby replied, "No, that'll never do! I will make you a feast worthy of a queen!"

"Ruby, you know neither of us are allowed unsupervised in the kitchen after the batter incident."

"I will get Dad to help me make you a feast worthy of a queen!" Ruby's grin notably did not leave her face, even as Yang sighed.

"Is Dad awake?" she asked. The smile vanished from Ruby's face.

" _I knew I forgot something!_ "

* * *

Taiyang Xiao Long had decided that "pancakes" would be "a feast fit for a queen" after his younger daughter had barged into his room in a blind panic. If asked about the incident later, he would deny shrieking at a pitch that rivaled the time a racoon had wandered into the shower while Ruby was using it. Regardless of Taiyang's blatant lies, however, the morning had proceeded as normal. Yang had downed her pancakes, gotten first dibs on a warm shower, and equipped _Ember Celica_ to her wrists in bracelet mode. All the while, Ruby was Petal Bursting around the house, offering whatever help she could.

"Ruby, I can brush my own teeth. My arms aren't broken."

Even if she was a little overenthusiastic.

* * *

"Ruby," Yang started as Taiyang started up Zippy (the Rose/Xiao Long family car).

"Yes Yang?" Ruby asked as Zwei, the family pet sat in her lap and demanded pets.

"Are you going to follow me around like a lost puppy during the entire party?" Yang asked, "Because we already have Zwei for that, and I'm pretty sure you can keep him busy."

"But you're going to be heading to Beacon next year, and I want to make the most of what time we have left!" Ruby replied.

"Ruby, I'm going to a Hunstman Academy, not a morgue, there'll be plenty of time to hang out during breaks," Yang replied. As the conversations in the car continued, the occupants failed to notice a red Atlesian Dropship and a blue Bullhead fly overhead.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dropkick asked as they soared over the trees, "I mean, we're supposed to be robots in disguise, and this Relay Dish is a bit too close to Vale if a firefight starts. And you know what Megatron will do to us if we blow our cover!"

"I swung by here last night," Shatter replied, "The only time they ever guard the relay tower is when they're performing maintenance. With Patch being so close to the CCT Tower, the only reason they have the relay is for a rainy day."

"And that helps us _how_?" Dropkick asked.

"It means that, even in spite of our size, we can swoop in, tap into the CCT Network, see if any of those putrid organics have sighted the Autobot, and leave before anyone realizes we're there," Shatter answered, "We're coming up on the CCT Tower now, prepare to land." Shatter circled around while Dropkick simply aimed his thrusters at the ground while slowly decreasing their power. As soon as they had both disappeared under the treeline, their parts shifted and folded into a more humanoid shapes.

Shatter was taller and leaner, while Dropkick was shorter and bulkier. Shatter's eyes glowed yellow, while Dropkick's glowed red. Aside from that, both of them had the grills of cars on their chest, the window of their flying alt-modes' cockpits on their midriffs, wheels on their shoulders and legs, and the blade-like wings of their altmodes sticking out of their backs.

"You did bring the device, didn't you?" Shatter asked.

"Didn't I?" Dropkick replied with a grin. A battle mask closed over Shatter's face as a metal blade deployed from her left arm. "Oh, don't get your circuits in a twist!" Dropkick replied as his chest opened up, deploying a small, black and green box, "I'm not an idiot!"

"That's still up for debate," Shatter growled as she retracted her blade and took the device from Dropkick, "Now, let _me_ handle this!" Shatter pressed on the top of the box, causing it to unfold into a six-legged drone. The little machine made a trilling sound, before hopping onto the relay dish's rim. It stumbled down the curvature of the relay dish, then scurried to the antenna at the center. Shatter grinned as the drone scaled the side of the antenna.

"Now what?" Dropkick asked.

"It's time for us to leave," Shatter replied as she folded in on herself, transforming into a red S.U.V., and driving away down the dirt road.

"No popping humans?"

"What happened to worrying about our cover?" Shatter asked.

Dropkick grumbled something incomprehensible in response as he folded back into armored car mode and drove after his partner.

* * *

"Fortunately, those Dust upgrades we applied to my saber and off-hand in case the White Fang tried to steal the bomb were more than enough to break this 'Autobot's' Aura," Winter Schnee explained into her scroll, "Unfortunately, it got away shortly after the fact."

" _And you expect me to believe that what we thought was a bomb was actually not just a robot with Aura, of which only one exists in the whole world, but also happened to be from an alien planet_?" the voice on the other end of the Scroll asked, " _Specialist Schnee, I have grounds to put you under psych eval._ "

"General Ironwood, I have evidence!" Winter hastily replied as she tapped her Scroll's holographic interface a few times, "I'm sending you the footage from the Atlesian Knights it destroyed." Ironwood fell silent as he played the footage. "Also, my soldiers' helmet cameras recorded footage of the battle. I'll be sending that through later."

" _This is worrying,_ " Ironwood replied after the footage finished playing

"I know, who knows how many other of these things there are?"

" _Not just that, this 'B-127' identified itself as part of the 'Autobot_ Resistance' _,_ " General Ironwood replied, " _If the White Fang and Vacuan history has taught me anything, no one who wages war with their own government is up to any good." He sighed. "And you say it got away with its homing beacon?_ "

"Yes, which means if we don't find it fast, the whole of Remnant could be in danger!" Winter replied, "I'll alert the Vale Council and-"

" _No! This is an Atlesian operation!_ " Ironwood interrupted, " _If they learn that we unleashed an alien fugitive on their kingdom, we'll never be able to perform operations within Vale's borders again!_ "

Shatter and Dropkick drove down the road, listening to every word.

" _This is an Atlesian Military Secret, Specialist Schnee. Share what you've seen with any unauthorized personnel and I'll have you discharged._ "

" _Understood, sir._ "

"So, this is where the Ark crashed," Shatter remarked, "How very… _Interesting_."

* * *

The party had been very hectic. Ruby had tried to follow her sister around like a lost puppy, only for Yang's very close friends with incredibly distinctive personalities and appearances to crowd her out and reflect on all the very interesting and noteworthy trouble they had gotten into with Yang over the years. Truly, a more interesting and memorable group had never existed before or would exist since.

"Jerks," Ruby grumbled with a pout.

"Yang gets to see you all the time," Taiyang replied, "Maybe you should try making some more friends if your so worried about being left alone."

"Why would I need friends when I have you, Yang, Uncle Qrow, Zwei, and _Crescent Rose_?" Ruby asked, silver eyes staring up at him inquisitively.

"Because you're going to move out eventually, and working as a Huntress will be easier if you have a lot of connections," Taiyang answered.

"And I can't just work with Yang because…"

Taiyang sighed.

Yang's friends had given her a variety of gifts a typical teenage girl would enjoy. Things like gloves, hair-care products, and ammunition for her weapons. Ruby had gotten her a new cleaning kit for _Ember Celica_ , her Uncle Qrow had sent her a gift card, as for her father…

"Dad…" Yang started, "Where's your gift to me?"

Taiyang simply grinned.

"Did you forget-"

"No! It's just a bit… Different from your other gifts," Taiyang explained.

"... Wha-"

"So…" Yang started as Zippy sped down the wooded road, "You haven't explained what you meant by your gift being 'different' from everyone else's."

"You'll see in a second," Taiyang replied, "We're coming up at the place in just a few minutes." Zippy pulled off to the right, and into the lot of _Witwicky Automotive_.

"You're getting me a car?" Yang asked. Her hopes were dashed when her father responded with a laugh.

"Unfortunately, buying a car's a little bit above my paygrade," Taiyang replied, "That said, they do have a sale on another vehicle type."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, motorcycles!" Taiyang answered.

"Did you have to wait until we had parked the car, walked inside the building, met the manager, and walked back out before answering?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, that is _kinda_ weird, Dad," Ruby agreed.

"It sounded cooler in my head," Taiyang replied as his daughters followed the owner. Yang looked over the presented motorcycles.

One was mostly pink, save for the black metal under its seat.

"That one might look cool at night, but I'm not sure…" Yang remarked.

The next one was dark blue, with scattered little accents of pink above the front wheel, on the back, and under the bottom of the motorcycle.

"Better, but not really what I'm-" her voice trailed off as she spotted the _one_.

It was a black and yellow (but mostly yellow) sports motorcycle with red-to-orange-to-yellow gradients on the back panels. Yang immediately dashed over to the motorcycle, inspecting the springs, the Combustion Dust intake, and the kickstand that she didn't even notice until she got close enough.

"Find something you like?" Taiyang asked as his daughter actually climbed onto the motorcycle to look over the dashboard.

"I dunno," Yang answered, "Something about the color scheme just speaks to me."

"Huh… I don't remember bringing that in," the manager remarked noticing the red-and-black (but mostly red) sports motorcycle with yellow-to-orange-red gradients on the back panels that happened to be right next to it, "The G1 Dustfire's a pretty durable model. I've heard of Hunstmen fighting Grimm while riding it!"

"Really?" Yang asked, stars in her eyes.

"... Mr. Witwicky, I hope you realize the horrors you're about to unleash," Taiyang remarked.

"Wait, does it have built-in guns?" Ruby asked.

"No," Mr. Witwicky answered.

" _Aw…_ "

Regardless of Ruby begging Yang to go for the white and green Elita-7 ("It has a built-in rocket launcher Yang, _a rocket launcher!_ "), Yang went home with the G1 Dustfire, while Mr. Witwicky wondered why he had more motorcycles than keys.

"I mean, that yellow one had to be mine, the key went in the ignition, but that doesn't explain why I only remember buying the red one," he pondered.

* * *

Days went by in the Rose/Xiao Long household. Ruby and Taiyang helped Yang with some of the bike's upkeep, but there were some strange occurrences every now and then.

"Why did the Bumblebee fall over?" Yang asked one morning.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, looking up from her magazine, "What bumblebee?"

"My motorcycle, the Blazing Bumblebee!" Yang replied.

"You named your motorcycle?"

"Ruby, Dad named his car, you named your scythe, and I named my shot gauntlets," Yang replied, "Of _course_ I named my Bumblebee!"

"I dunno, maybe you forgot to put down the kickstand?" Ruby shrugged.

"Oh sure, like all those times you forgot to switch _Crescent Ros_ e back into storage mode, or all those times I forgot to take off _Ember Celica_ before going to bed, or all those times Uncle Qrow _remembered_ to put a padlock on his 'secret' stash," Yang replied, "Besides, it didn't fall over until _after_ I walked into the garage."

"Huh… That is weird," Ruby replied, "Maybe the garage is haunted!"

"Ruby, there's no such thing as ghosts," Yang replied, "And if there were, why would they only haunt our garage?"

"Maybe it's the ghost of a motorcycle enthusiast and they're jealous of your bike?" Ruby suggested.

Yang gave her a look.

"Hey! It could happen!"

"I'm gonna let Dad know about the dents in the garage door," Yang replied as she walked away, "I don't get what could be in our house that's making those."

"Bark!" Zwei yipped.

Yang and Ruby both turned their attention to the corgi, noticing the empty food dish next to him.

"You don't think-"

"Either that or your motorcycle's possessed."

Both girls stared at the selectively oblivious dog.

* * *

Aside from the mystery Yang's Bumblebee had brought upon them, life continued as normal for the small family, especially as they got ready for a fishing trip.

"Fishing rods?" Taiyang listed.

"Check!" Ruby answered as she shoved three fishing rods into Zippy's backseat.

"Tackle box?"

"Check!" Yang called as she placed the tackle box into the trunk.

"Sunscreen?"

"Got it!" Yang and Ruby both replied as they held up two separate bottles of sunscreen.

"Alright, we're ready to go!" Taiyang announced as he opened the driver side door, "Get in Zippy and let's go!"

"Actually, could I take the Bumblebee?" Yang asked, "Looking at how Ruby put those fishing rods in there, I don't want to risk getting a fishhook in my hair."

"Only if you wear your helmet," Taiyang answered, "Aura can only get you so far."

"I know Dad," Yang replied as she ran over to the table she kept her helmet on after it kept mysteriously falling off of her bike whenever they left it in the garage unsupervised.

"Does that mean I get to ride shotgun?" Ruby asked.

" _Crescent Rose_ _is_ better suited to that job…" Taiyang remarked.

* * *

The ride to the beach was uneventful, with Yang following close behind Zippy on her Bumblebee. Though she did notice that it seemed to slow down without her telling it to, sometimes fought when she tried to make certain turns, and at one point went in reverse when she hit the brakes.

"Dad," Yang started as soon as they had parked, "I think we might need to take Bumblebee to a mechanic here soon. It was acting up quite a bit the whole way here."

"I noticed," Taiyang answered as he got out of Zippy, "Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if a Geist got into the engine."

"I'm pretty sure we'd notice if Bumblebee was part of a Motor Gigas," Ruby replied as she stepped out of Zippy's passenger seat, Crescent Rose still in sniper rifle mode, "For one, it would be trying to kill us. For another, Zippy would probably form the torso while Bumblebee formed an arm or leg. Finally, if the Geist did possess Bumblebee, it would've had to have happened while it was still in the dealership, and I don't think it would still be standing if a Geist decided to make a body out of its products."

"Whatever the case, the beach is just past this treeline," Taiyang answered, "Yang, Ruby, grab your fishing rods. I'm going to show you my favorite fishing spot!"

As soon as the family's voices had faded, "Bumblebee" unfolded into robot mode.

"Oh Primus I thought they'd never leave!" B-127 remarked as soon as they were out of earshot, "Now, that they're distracted, maybe this time will be my chance to slip away undetected." He sighed. "The fact that I didn't reactivate after crashing is worrying though. The emergency failsafes should've brought me and everyone else back online the second we crashed. Unless…" He brought a hand to his chin and started pacing. "No, when would the Decepticons have had the chance to sabotage us? I mean, that would only work if there was a mole in the ranks, and there's no way a Decepticon could sneak his way into Optimus' inner circle." He detected Taiyang's voice getting louder and shifted back into motorcycle mode.

"Ruby, you are so much like your mother it hurts sometimes," Taiyang muttered, before noticing the Bumblebee was not in the same space Yang had parked "it" in

 _Thank Primus he didn't hear me!_ B-127 thought, _See Sideways, I can too talk to myself on a mission without compromising my cover!_

"... Maybe Ruby's ghost theory isn't as far-fetched as we thought," he muttered as he walked over to Zippy's passenger side door, "Now where's that Scroll?" As Taiyang unlocked and opened the door, he failed to notice two red eyes staring at him from between the trees "Oh, it fell under the seat!" Taiyang remarked as he pulled out the Scroll, "Maybe we should see about buying Ruby something with actual p-" a growl interrupted his ruminations. Taiyang immediately whirled around to face the source of the growl, and stared straight into the soulless eyes of an ursine monster. Large, bone-like spikes jutted out of its armored back, it's head encased in skull-like armor, and it's black body dwarfing the car behind the human.

"Oh shi-"

"I wonder what's taking Dad so long," Ruby mumbled as she watched the lure bob in the water.

"Maybe you left your Scroll at home?" Yang suggested.

"I'm not tha-" the argument was cut short by a primal roar.

" _Grimm!_ " both girls rose suddenly, the fishing rod left forgotten on the pier, and whirled to face the direction of the roar. Yang switched _Ember Celica_ into gauntlet mode as Ruby unfolded _Crescent Rose_ into a scythe, both keeping the built-in guns of their weapons pointed at the trees.

"Do you have any Dust rounds loaded?" Yang asked. Ruby pulled out a Lightning Dust Magazine and quickly fed it into her weapon.

"I do now!" Ruby answered as Yang shot her a look, the already loud roars getting louder as the trees shook, a few toppling over. Finally, Taiyang Xiao long exploded from the treeline, flying backwards, and hit the pier hard enough to break the wooden boards, his Aura breaking on impact.

" _Dad!_ "

The Grimm responsible burst from the treeline.

"An Ursa Major?" Ruby shouted as she fired a Lightning Round that failed to even stagger the abomination, "What's one of those doing _here_?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna skin it!" Yang answered, throwing her arms back and firing two explosive rounds to propel herself towards the beast. The Ursa Major easily batted her out of the way before continuing its charge.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted.

Yang Xiao Long wordlessly growled and threw a couple of punches, firing a couple of rounds at the side of the Ursa Major. "Dislodge Dad from the pier while I teach this Grimm a thing or two!" she shouted as the massive Grimm turned to face her. The Ursa Major roared and charged Yang as Ruby tried to pull her unconscious father free from the wooden pier. Yang threw her arms out behind her and fired a couple of shots, riding the shockwave from the exploding rounds to propel herself towards the Grimm. The Ursa Major casually swatted her out of the air and into the water.

" _Yang!_ " The Ursa Major reacted to both the sound and the delicious fear of Taiyang's and Ruby's voices, turning to face the two of them. Ruby was supporting her father's weight, while seeing his eldest daughter batted into the ocean by an unholy abomination had shaken Taiyang out of his daze.

"Run," he ordered as the Ursa Major charged them.

"But Da-"

" _ **RUN!"**_ Ruby flinched, but reluctantly escaped into the trees in a cloud of flower petals. Taiyang raised his fists as the Grimm roared, no time to arm. In spite of his willpower, his lack of an Aura meant that he was still knocked off his feet, the impact of the Grimm's backhand cracking his ribs, and was knocked onto his back. Taiyang froze as he stared Death itself in the face, its cold breath reminding him of his own fragility. The Ursine devil opened its jaws, revealing the void of its throat, ready to bite off the father's head.

_CRACK!_

The Ursa Major growled in irritation as something impacted one of the spikes on its back.

_CRACK!_

It reared back and roared in pain as something else struck its eye. It whirled to face the trees, where Ruby Rose fired off a third gravity round from her sniper rifle. This one plinked off the bony armor of the Ursa's claws, before it threw itself at the tree.

"Uh-oh," Ruby dispersed into petals as the Ursa Major sliced through the tree trunk. The whirlwind of petals reformed into Ruby on a neighboring tree as Ruby fired off another gravity round. This one missed entirely, forcing Ruby to jump and Petal Burst away as the Ursa toppled that tree as well. It says a lot about the intensity of the situation that neither had noticed the Bumblebee flying for the air as the Ursa Major chased after Ruby. Or the fact that the motorcycle's Aura flashed blue upon impact with the concrete.

"Dad!" Yang shouted as she dashed from the water to her father, hair and clothes soaking wet, eyes blue with concern, "Dad! Are you okay?"

"Damn it Ruby," Taiyang groaned. Yang froze.

"Where did she go?" she asked.

B-127 groaned as he shifted back into robot mode.

"Okay, Projected Spark Field's still up, but I don't think I can maintain cover and save that kid at the same time," he remarked, "Still, I'll be quicker in vehicle-"

" _RUBY!_ " Yang shouted.

"Better not cause a panic," he muttered as he shifted back into vehicle mode. Yang burst from the trees, eyes still blue with worry.

"Ruby!" she noticed the path of fallen trees and discarded bullet casings, " _Oh God…_ " She immediately dashed through the foliage.

"Yang! Augh…" Taiyang winced, supporting himself on the standing trees as he limped for his car, "Oh God why… Please don't take my daughters from me, I already lost Summer, I can't afford to lose either of them too" He was caught off guard when he heard Bumblebee's engines revving. "What the…" He watched, dumbfounded, as his daughter's motorcycle retracted its kickstand and sped off into the woods without a rider. He stumbled into the passenger seat of his car in shock, not noticing a raven flying overhead.

Ruby Rose was tired. It was a simple fact as the Ursa toppled tree after tree, none of her bullets piercing its bone armor. There were some scratches on one of the spikes, and she had managed to take out its right eye, but aside from that, the abomination didn't show any signs of slowing down. Her luck ran out when she hit a tree branch at top speed, and the Ursa took to climbing the tree instead of simply barrelling through it.

"No…" the tree toppled under the Ursa's weight, and Ruby hit the ground with a thud, her aura flashing red as it absorbed the impact.

"Ow…" Ruby groaned as she stumbled to her feet, "Wait, where's Crescent Rose?" Before she had time to look around for her Sniper Scythe, a bony paw shoved Ruby to the ground. The Ursa Major dug its claws into the ground to hold Ruby in place. It growled as it motioned towards its empty eye socket with its free paw. "I hear scars are intimidating?" Ruby laughed nervously. The Ursa Major simply growled, the pointer claw hovering over one of Ruby's eyes.

 _Aren't Grimm supposed to be mindless?_ Ruby wondered, _How can this one take it so personally?_ The Ursa Major's claw inched closer and closer to Ruby's face, the girl's dread rising with every passing second. Just inches from Ruby's pupil, it paused as the Grimm looked over its shoulder. _Why is it-_

" _Ruby!_ " a familiar voice shouted, " _RUBY!_ "

The Ursa Major made a mumbling sound as it moved its claw away from Ruby's face.

 _It's using me as bait!_ Ruby realized, panic heightening one more as Yang's voice got louder and more desperate. The silver eyed girl glanced around, and noticed that Crescent Rose had landed just within reach of her left arm. Ruby grinned and stretched her arm to try and get the handle within reach of her fingertips. The tip of the Ursa Major's claw pierced Ruby's wrist, her Aura flaring as it tried to repel the intrusion. Ruby bit back a scream. The Ursa Major growled and pushed in its claw an inch deeper.

Yang Xiao Long's blood ran cold as she heard her little sister shriek in pain. She looked over her shoulder, and her heart stopped as she saw the red flicker of Ruby's aura finally giving out. The Ursa removed its claw, blood dripping off the tip. Yang's eyes turned red and her hair burst into golden flames. Steam rose from Yang's rapidly drying body as she thrust her arms out behind her, firing shots from _Ember Celica_ to propel herself through the air, and threw a punch at the Ursa Major. Then the soulless beast's jaws closed around her right arm, and everything was _pain_.

Ruby's eyes widened in shock as her older sister cried out in pain, the Ursa Major's teeth digging into Yang's right arm. With a swing of its head, the Ursa Major propelled Yang directly into a tree, her Semblance deactivating as her Aura flickered and fizzled out. The Ursa Major released Ruby and lumbered over to the downed blonde. Yang struggled to push herself to her feet, but winced and grabbed hold of her still-bleeding right arm. The Ursa Major slowly rose to its hind legs, raising its paw to strike.

"Get away from her!" Ruby shouted as she propelled herself through the air with a gunshot from _Crescent Rose_ , and hooked the Ursa Major's elbow with the blade of her sniper-scythe. As soon as she was certain that the barrel wasn't pointed at her sister, Ruby fired gunshot after gunshot, trying to pull the blade of the scythe through the Ursa's arm. The Ursa Major simply growled and threw its arm forward, tossing both Crescent Rose and Ruby into a nearby tree. _Crescent Rose_ clattered to the ground while Ruby landed with a painful _thud_. She groaned in pain as the Ursa Major slowly stalked towards her.

"No…" Yang forced out, before using the last of her strength to throw herself over her sister, shielding Ruby's head and torso with her own body. Yang closed her eyes, grit her teeth, and wrapped her arms around Ruby's head, bracing herself for what would no doubt be a swift yet none-the-less painful death. _Hopefully Ruby will be able to get away while the Grimm's busy tearing me apar- Is that an engine?_

B-127 mentally cursed as he weaved between the trees, following the trail of munition shells.

"Okay, the gunfire just got quiet, but judging by the screams, it's probably not because the monster's dead," he muttered to himself, "Hopefully I'm not too late…" He spotted the Grimm towering over two motionless forms. Without another word, he whirled around, drove up a downed tree like a ramp, and flew straight through the air towards the Grimm.

Yang popped open one eye when she heard the Ursa Major utter a confused growl, and then both eyes were wide open when her motorcycle collided with its head.

"What the…"

"Yang?" Ruby opened her eyes, and yelped as the motorcycle landed on the ground a few feet away from them, "Is that…"

"I'm just as lost as you-" whatever Yang was about to say was cut off when the panels on her Bumblebee loosened, and soon the entire motorcycle unfolded into a more humanoid form. The wheels were now in the robot's lower legs, the front of the motorcycle had become the chest, and the backpanels with the red-orange-yellow gradients were now shield-like plates on the robot's forearms. "Bumblebee?"

"It's as good a name as any," the robot replied, shocking Yang and Ruby further. It, or rather _he_ turned to face the two, a comforting smile on his surprisingly human (if not metallic) face. "Mind if I tag in?" Bumblebee asked.

"Uh…" Both girls were still trying to process what just happened. The Ursa Major interrupted their pondering with a roar, and Bumblebee rolled his glowing, blue eyes.

"I'll take that as a 'please do'," he replied as a wasp-like mask closed over his head, "This shouldn't take long." Shotguns deployed from under Bumblebee's shields as he opened fire on the Ursa Major, cracking several of its bone spikes and pushing it back a few feet. He then retracted both blasters in favor of blades made of glowing-blue metal as he charged the beast with a shout of his own. The Ursa Major roared and charged the newcomer. Bumblebee's left blade sliced right through the elbow Ruby had tried to sever earlier, while his right glanced the bone-like helmet and severed one of the damaged spikes. The Ursa cried out in pain and backhanded the former motorcycle, sending him sliding through a tree. Ruby took the prerogative to push Yang off of her and switch _Crescent Rose_ back into rifle mode, firing off an ice round into the Ursa Major's empty eye socket. The devil-like beast cried out as the damaged tree landed right on top of it.

"Nice shot Rubes!" Yang said, finally out of her stupor.

"... Probably should have used my other hand…" Ruby groaned as she sat down _Crescent Rose_ and massaged her injured wrist.

Bumblebee folded back into a motorcycle and sped to the fallen bone spike, then transformed back into a robot to pick it up.

"This could come in handy," he remarked. His musings were interrupted by the now severely lopsided Ursa Major throwing the tree off of its back, most of the bone spikes on its upper back either severed or shattered, and then charged Bumblebee. The robot groaned in annoyance. "You just don't know when to give up!" As soon as the Ursa lunged, Bumblebee jabbed the bone-spike into one of the monster's hind paws, and forced it back to the ground. The Ursa major roared in pain as Bumblebee hammered the bone-spike through the monster's foot and into the forest floor. The Grimm managed to knock Bumblebee away with its flailing, however, but the robot seemed more annoyed than anything. "I think it's time I wrapped this up!" The robot announced as he kicked off the ground to throw a punch at the Grimm. The Ursa Major caught Bumblebee's punch with its remaining forepaw. Bumblebee retracted his mask to smirk at the Grimm. The Ursa Major let out a confused rumble, before roaring in pain as the tip of Bumblebee's sword stuck out of its elbow. "You forgot about that, didn't you?" Bumblebee taunted, before throwing another punch at the Grimm's head. The Ursa Major, out of options, bit down on the robot's fist, applying enough pressure to cause a blue light to flare across his entire body. "Okay, OW!" Bumblebee replied, "But it won't hurt as much as this!" The Grimm's remaining eye seemed to widen in shock as a mechanical whirring sounded from inside its mouth. Its shock was short-lived, as a blue energy blast shot out of the back of its head, the Ursa Major's entire body disintegrating mere seconds later.

As soon as there was nothing left of the beast, B-127 retracted both of his weapons.

"Can you guys still walk?" he asked the two girls.

"Uh…" Both girls were speechless as they helped each other up. Yang supported her sister's weight by throwing her good arm around the younger girl's shoulders as Ruby used her good hand to attach Crescent Rose (now back in storage mode) to the back of her belt.

"I'm okay except for my arm," Yang answered, "What about you, Rubes?"

"Everything hurts at the moment," Ruby answered, "But I should be fine once my Aura kicks back in."

"Aura?" B-127 racked his processors, "Oh right, that's what you call your Projected Spark Fields on this planet!" Both girls fell silent. "... Oh, will you need a ride back to the street in the meantime?" Yang and Ruby shared a glance.

"Probably," Yang answered, and B-127 shifted back into his motorcycle mode.

"Just let me handle the steering," he instructed, "I can explain everything once your injuries have been treated." Yang and Ruby exchanged a glance.

"Still think my bike is haunted?" Yang asked.

"Shut up," Ruby replied. Neither of the girls, nor the motorcycle, noticed the masked woman watching them from the branches of one of the trees near the newly created clearing. Not even as she unsheathed a red blade and slashed through empty air.

* * *

The ride home was awkward, to say the least. Taiyang had been too stunned by Yang and Ruby riding back on the self-driving motorcycle (and the severe injuries on both of his daughters) to scold Yang for running off on her own, and the awkward silence remained as Yang and Taiyang collected their things from the beach and headed home, Ruby keeping an eye on Yang and Bumblebee as she road with her Dad in Zippy.

* * *

Taiyang stared between his daughters, Ruby's hand in a splint as Yang's right arm was bandaged, all three of them gathered in the garage.

"You said you had an explanation for why your bike just drove off on its own?" he opened. Yang nodded.

"You wanna show him what you showed us, Bumblebee?" she asked. Taiyang's eyes widened when the black and yellow motorcycle unfolded into a robot so tall it needed to kneel down to fit in the garage, with a metallic yet undeniably human face. Well, maybe a _Faunus_ face if those two antenna were anything to go by.

"Where would you like me to start?" Bumblebee asked, surprising Mr. Xiao Long even more.

"The beginning," Yang answered, "Where did you come from, and why are you here?"

"That's… A _long_ story," Bumblebee replied.

"We've got all night," Taiyang answered. Bumblebee seemed to sigh.

"My story begins on a distant planet known as Cybertron," he began, "With a visionary named Megatron."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bumblebee was ALWAYS going to reveal himself by fighting an Ursa Major, and the fight was always going to end with him stabbing it through the arm before shooting it in the head (though originally it was going to be an uppercut to the chin followed by an Energon blast). Bumblebee's Remnant design is based off of Animated!Prowl's. I kept Taiyang's battle mostly off page because I don't know what his weapon is yet. The cliffhanger was originally going to involve the White Fang, but 1. writing goatman interacting with catgirl makes me uncomfortable and 2. Bumblebee getting started on expositing his backstory segues into the next chapter later.  
> Now, why write a story where the Bumblebee from RWBY is Bumblebee from Transformers and have him and Yang be friends? Simple, of all the RWBY/Transformers crossovers I'm aware of, "Spark to Spark: Dust to Dust" over on Spacebattles is the only one to do anything with the concept, and even then, Bumblebee's not really what I'd call a main character there. So, I figured that if I wanted to read a story focused on Yang and Bumblebee becoming friends, I'd have to write it myself.  
> As for my future plans, I'm going to edit the prologue to bring Winter's fighting style closer to how she canonically fights, and then I'll get started on Chapter 2. As for Chapter 2, it'll be called either "World of Cybertron" or "Cultural Exchange", not sure which. It'll also probably be shorter, because WOW!  
> Also, since the first chapter of "Spark to Spark: Dust to Dust" is "A Girl and Her Car", I was thinking of changing the title of this fic to something like "The Dragon and the Bumblebee" or "The Dragon and the Motorcycle". Do any of you have any preferences? Or am I overreacting?  
> Update 7/19/2020: Rewrote the Ursa fight so that Tai didn't have time to draw his weapons, along with a few other minor edits.  
> Update: 9/25/2020: Updated the references to the timeline to better line up with Yang's canonical birthdate of July 28th.


	3. Chapter 2: World of Cybertron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The very first scene in this chapter has Blake and Adam interacting BEFORE Blake left him. If abusive relationships make you uncomfortable, skip ahead to the first line break.

"Adam, I have news regarding Specialist Schnee."

Adam Taurus looked up from the papers and reports on his desk to face the speaker, a golden-eyed girl with black hair, a bow adorning her head.

"Oh really?" he asked. The girl threw another paper on the desk.

"Most of this was redacted on the server," she explained, "But from what I can tell, someone stole a piece of the bomb and then managed to shake the Atlesian Military's pursuit at a business near the excavation site."

"Anything else?" Adam asked.

"Nothing we can use, just a look-out for a black and yellow, self-driving motorcycle," the girl answered.

Adam quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't know either," the girl answered the unspoken question, "Either way, it doesn't look like the Atlesian Military will be able to use the bomb against us."

"No, but that also means that we can't use it against them," Adam replied.

"I'm sorry, what?" the girl asked.

"High Leader Sienna Khan made it clear that we need to strike fear in the hearts of humans if we want them to respect Faunus kind," Adam replied, "The bombs Mantle used in the Great War used the right mix of Dust Types that is still classified to this day to devastate their enemies. Unfortunately, the schematics have all been destroyed, but seeing how destructive they were, can you imagine what would happen if one of those knocked old Ironwood and the Schnees right off their pedestals and into the pits of Hell where they belong?"

"They wouldn't be the only casualties," the girl replied, her voice low.

"Can you think of anyone in Atlas who honestly doesn't deserve to die?" Adam asked, "Remember what Ilia told you? Would you defend her assailants and abusers the way your parents did?"

" _No!_ " the girl shouted, "Adam, I would never!"

"That's a relief!" Adam said as he walked around his desk, "You had me worried there for a moment, Blake. You must never forget the thing about Atlas: Every human who lives there has made their living exploiting the Faunus, and every Faunus who works for them is complicit in their crimes. Do you understand, darling?"

"Yes, my love," Blake replied.

"Be careful to never become like those traitors," Adam replied as he headed out, "Now, I've been pouring over those maps all day, would you be a dear and pinpoint where the Atlesian Military lost the thief's trail?"

"Of course," Blake answered. A predatory grin found its way onto Adam's face.

"Good night my darling, you can give me your report in the morning," he said as he exited the tent.

"Goodnight, Adam," Blake said with a sigh. _What am I doing with my life?_

* * *

"Woah, woah, woah, back it up!" Taiyang interrupted, "Are you telling me that you're an honest to God alien?"

"... Yes? Why is that what people on this planet have trouble wrapping their heads around?" Bumblebee asked, "Judging by the tech I've seen, you should have space travel by now."

"Dust doesn't work outside of Remnant's atmosphere," Yang answered.

"Then why not just use something other than Dust?" Bumblebee asked, "And why do you call it 'Dust' anyway, doesn't that get confusing?"

"Look, these are all interesting questions, but maybe we can get back to the matter at hand," Taiyang interrupted before they could continue on that tangent, "What's this about a visionary?"

"Oh uh, let's just say that Cybertron, even if it didn't have a bunch of Sparkless abominations wandering the wilderness, did have it's own share of issues," Bumblebee continued, "You see, way before I was even constructed, Cybertron had been devastated by a war, and so Zeta Prime, Cybertron's leader at the time, enacted a temporary rationing system, and assigned different 'functions' to each body type and alt-mode. Unfortunately, Zeta Prime went Offline before the Energon shortage ended, opening the system up for exploitation…"

"What's Energon?" Ruby asked.

"Think if your Dust was a liquid, and also your only source of sustenance," Bumblebee answered, "Now, like I was saying…"

* * *

" _When Cybertron's repairs were done, rather than end the caste system, Sentinel Prime instead opted for mass production of protoforms in hopes of starting up a golden age. It was under these circumstances that D-16, a nameless soldier among a crowd of nameless soldiers, was built. If not for the one and only campaign he ever went on, history would've never even remembered him."_

* * *

D-16 scowled as he fired multiple energon blasts across the wastes of Tsiehshi, striking the drillers and scraplets that had mutated from exposure to the especially potent "Destruction-Type Energon" found on this planet.

"What's the point of taking Energon we can't process?" his comrade in arms, D-17 asked. Their commanding officer answered with a single shot of his fusion cannon, breaking the soldier's projected spark field and letting the magnetic radiation from the Deestruction-Type Energon fry his circuits.

"That's why we're here!" the commander answered, "Process this stuff into usable ammunition, and that'll be our enemies' circuits that burst into flame! Any other questions?" None of the soldiers were brave or stupid enough to take up that offer. "That's what I thought. Now, focus on clearing out these beasts so that the miners can trade their Sparks for some good old fashioned firepowAUGH!" A Driller had burst from the ground beneath the commander's feet, the Transformer in question caught between the serpentine creatures three, drill-like fangs. "What are you worthless rustbuckets doing?" the commander asked, his purple Projected Spark Field flaring to protect his body, "SHOOT IT!" D-16 raised his ion rifle, and fired a single shot to disrupt the commander's Projected Spark Field, while the others shifted focus to the Scraplets.

* * *

" _While the commander most certainly had it coming, he was also the only one authorized to call in the extraction shuttle, meaning that nobody ever came to take the battalion back to Cybertron, and so they were left stranded on one of the most dangerous planets in the galaxy. It wasn't long until D-16 was the only one left."_

* * *

D-16 groaned as he took shelter on a stone far from the deadly Energon Ores and mutant beasts that had ravaged the planet.

"What the Pit am I supposed to do now?" he questioned, "None of the energon on this Primus Forsaken rock is safe for consumption! How is anyone supposed to survive here?"

"Simple, you adapt," a new voice answered. D-16 rose to his feet, ion rifle in hand, and spun around to face the speaker. Then he froze, and looked up, and up, and up, until he saw a pair of glowing, orange optics staring back down at him.

"By the AllSpark," D-16 lowered his weapon, "Who are you?"

"My name was taken from me eons ago," the newcomer said, fire in his mouth and optics, "By that egomaniacal coward who thought he could command my people." Orange circuits lit up all over the newcomers body, and D-16 had to step back as it soon became clear that the newcomer was also some kind of living furnace. "Still, for convenience's sake, I must ask, what do you call the Prime who's name was stricken from history?" D-16's optics widened in realization.

"The Fallen…" The living inferno laughed.

"So _that's_ what they call me now!" the Fallen bellowed, "The Fallen? I'd be insulted if it wasn't further evidence of how terrified of me Prima is. Tell me, has that old fool's god complex gotten any worse?"

"Prima is now one with the Matrix," D-16 replied, "As happens to all Primes when they-"

"The rank of Prime means _nothing!_ " The Fallen shouted, his flames erupting for emphasis, "It's just a title Prima used to con us all into joining his cult! Understood?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Good," the Fallen answered, "Now, I've given you my name, so what's yours?"

"D-16," the soldier answered.

"Not that name! Your new one!" the Fallen snapped, "The one I gave you!"

"I don't understand," D-16 replied, his voice shaking.

"Of course you don't, Prima made sure to keep all of his followers in the dark," the Fallen replied, "No matter, I'll see if you're worthy of my old name by the time we're done with your training."

* * *

"I didn't understand the significance of any of that," Yang interrupted, "What's a Prime anyway, some kind of god?"

"No, they're just the highest authority on Cybertron and its colony worlds," Bumblebee replied, "The original Thirteen Primes were a bunch of tribal leaders who united to defend Cybertron from an invasion of monsters, before dispersing to colonize a bunch of worlds, with Prima, the original Prime, staying behind to rule Cybertron. The Fallen saw this as Prima just trying to take Cybertron for himself while exiling the other leaders, there was a very messy Prime War, and then the Fallen was exiled to his own colony world. While Liege Maximo was the mastermind behind the operation, the fact that his tribe didn't go extinct is the only reason people remember his name."

"Liege Maximo?"

"... You know what I'll just explain the relevant bits as they come up," Bumblebee replied, "Now, where was I?"

* * *

" _The Fallen taught D-16 how to get safe energron from the scraplets and drillers, how to stop the 'Destruction-Type Energon' from frying his circuits, trained him in the use of his Projected Spark Field-"_

* * *

"Projec-"

"It's what he calls Aura," Ruby interrupted her father.

* * *

" _-and how to use it to power his Distinction."_

* * *

"And I'm guessing from the context that you're talking about his Semblance?" Taiyang asked.

"Are Semblances special abilities fueled by your 'Aura?'" Bumblebee asked.

Taiyang nodded.

"Then yes."

* * *

" _Anyway, time passed, and eventually Sentinel Prime was destroyed in a suspiciously convenient energon explosion, leaving the office open for Nominus Prime, a real exhaust pipe of a Transformer, to take control of Cybertron. His first order of business was to try and reclaim the failed colony of Tsiehshi. It proved to be the worst decision he ever made. The expedition had been forced to abandon their dead and wounded, but brought back an interesting discovery."_

* * *

"Nominus Prime!" a blue and red truck shouted as he drove up to the Prime's throne and transformed into a large robot with yellow optics, "I have news regarding the attempt to recapture Tsiehshi!"

"Well, how soon can we begin moving in the new generation?" Nominus Prime asked.

"Erm… Never," Ultra Magnus answered, "90% of the colonization team was wiped out."

"WHAT?!" Nominus Prime shouted, jumping from his throne, "Do you know how many protoforms I had forged and brought online? Who's responsible for this?"

"From what we can tell, nobody," Ultra Magnus answered.

"Well look again!" Nominus Prime ordered, "I want you to find and arrest the responsible party!"

"I'll see what I can do, my liege," Ultra Magnus replied, "But the survivors were able to bring something, or rather, _someone_ back."

"Oh?" Nominus replied, "And who would that be?"

"My name is Megatron," D-16 answered.

"And it's thanks to you that the survivors were able to escape at all?" Stardrive asked as she sat across from him in the interrogation room.

"No, that would be thanks to my mentor's noble sacrifice," D-16, or rather "Megatron" replied, "Not that Sentinel Prime would understand that concept."

"Sentinel Prime's been dead for Megacycles," Stardrive answered, "Our current leader is Nominus Prime. But that's besides the point." Stardrive rose from her seat. "What is your mentor's name."

"He named me after himself," Megatron answered, "He also asked to be buried on Caminus, for reasons I don't know."

"Good luck with that, Nominus Prime blacklisted all of the Colony Worlds when he got the Matrix of Leadership," Stardrive answered, "Additionally, there are going to be penalties for smuggling his remains onto the evacuation ship. Ultra Magnus pulled some strings so you'll only be hit with some jailtime and a short parole period."

" _Only?_ "

"The alternative was hard labor in an energon refinery," Stardrive answered, "Your mentor's remains will be preserved until you've served your sentence, then you can decide what to do with them."

* * *

"Okay so, any questions before I continue?"

"Hang on, what's a protoform?" Taiyang asked, "You've been using that word a lot but I haven't really been getting a definition."

"You have two protoforms in this very room," Bumblebee replied as he motioned to Yang and Ruby. The three looked confused at first, before realization dawned on Ruby's face.

"Protoforms are baby Transformers!"

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Bumblebee replied, "But we usually come out about as big as we'll ever get, and mature a lot quicker than most organic life forms. Any other questions?"

"What's the Matrix of Leadership?" Yang asked.

"An ancient, possibly magical relic granted to Prima by his creator, Primon," Bumblebee answered, "It's passed down from Prime to Prime on Cybertron, and is a symbol of power, a database, and might even be alive if what I've heard Optimus say is true."

"Huh…" Yang remarked, "Nifty."

"Any other questions?" Bumblebee asked.

"How does this relate to you and why you're here?" Taiyang asked.

"Oh, Megatron never really told me that much about his sentence, but I was kind of his biggest fan after he became a public figure," Bumblebee replied, "And all I can say, is that it was the worst decision of my life."

* * *

" _Okay so, imagine this: You're B-127, one of a million mass-produced protoforms manufactured in anticipation of Nominus Prime's idiotic colony plans. Except then the very colony you were created for ends up failing, and there's nowhere for you to go on Cybertron. So, you hit the streets, doing odd jobs here and there, except you're incredibly small, live in a city built for giants, and your alt-mode isn't exactly suited for heavy lifting. Except you need energon to keep your Spark burning, but nobody wants to hire you. Suddenly, your smaller, more energon efficient body is a curse rather than a blessing. To top it all off, the government is LITERALLY waiting for you to drop dead so that they can recycle your corpse into something useful. I… Did what I had to to stay online, and I don't have any happy memories about that time."_

* * *

"Stop that thief!" Barricade shouted as he transformed into vehicle mode to chase after a yellow and black motorcycle, which just so happened to have a basket full of stolen energon cubes.

* * *

" _Yeah… I was kind of a delinquent. Not really proud of it, but what can you do when you're a homeless motorbike in Kaon? But who's the bigger criminal, the homeless little protoform trying to survive, or the crime lord sitting on a throne of energon cubes and destroying several in front of his starving underlings? And besides, it's only illegal if you get caught!"_

* * *

"B-127! You are under arrest for grand theft energon and evasion of arrest!"

* * *

" _Needless to say, I got caught. And as a repeat offender of stealing energon from the guys who owned the Kaon Guard, I was lucky to only be sentenced to hard labor. They figured the best irony would be to make me serve energon cubes to one of my more frequent targets as they visited the Kaon Colosseum to watch Gladiator Battles. Just two or more bots slugging it out until their Projected Spark Fields fail. Or whatever the local term for that is anyway. Regardless, that's when I first saw him."_

* * *

"Server, bring me energon!" Trannis shouted.

"Yes sir," B-127 remarked unenthusiastically as he filled an energon cube at the pump.

"Make it snappy! I don't want to have to turn my attention away from watching Megatron get what's coming to him!" B-127 carefully made his way to the Kaonite crime boss in the private booth as the audience outside cheered as a dome-like cage closed over the arena. Five trapdoors opened in the arena, four on the left, one on the right, and platforms soon carried up the combatants.

Megatron blocked out the sounds of the screaming audience and overly enthusiastic announcer as he closed his optics.

 _Remember, my student_ , the Fallen's words echoed in his head, _Never settle for second best. Always strive for greatness._

"I remember, my master," Megatron muttered, his right hand clutching the Fusion Cannon, fashioned from his mentor's remains, that had been grafted to his right ar-

* * *

"Wait, he turned his mentor's corpse into a gun?" Taiyang interrupted.

"Typically, we Transformers melt down our dead so that their metals can be used to make new protoforms, but what Megatron did isn't really that unusual," Bumblebee replied, "In some circles its viewed as a means of keeping a part of them alive via using their remains to upgrade and repair loved ones."

"That still feels kinda messed up," Yang remarked.

"Yeah, like if I made _Crescent Rose_ out of mom's bones…" Ruby shuddered.

"Okay, I know this isn't a thing on all worlds, but do you have organ donations here?" Bumblebee asked, "You know, where if you die and your organs are intact, they can be used to replace someone else's when they're damaged?"

"Yeah," the three humans answered.

"It's a bit like that, but in this case, the organ was a surgical addition to Megatron's arm that allows him to keep his mentor with him at all times due to being unable to give him a proper burial," Bumblebee replied, "Remember, we're living technology, but we're still technology. A lot of our practices are going to be different from an organic being's practices by default. Any other questions?"

"Wasn't the Fallen a lot bigger than Megatron?" Ruby asked.

"Here's the thing, the Fallen was killed by a swarm of scraplets, and scraplets have this thing where they eat their prey alive," Bumblebee answered, "There wasn't a lot left of him by the time Megatron killed the scraplets."

* * *

" _Anyway, there Megatron was, staring down his four opponents. First was Deadlock, had a bit of a criminal record, dual-wielded 'Super Swords' and his Distinction meant that he'd get faster the more hits he took. Then there was Bludgeon, a real quiet type with one sword and two guns mounted on his back. Real creepy guy, I don't like talking about him. Third was Star Saber, who's very nice once you get to know him, but thinks he's way cooler than he actually is. Periodic deflating of his ego is kinda important. The last guy was Straxus, a real monster. He was infamous for 'accidentally' maiming his opponents, and typically only fought when Trannis wanted to make an example of someone. And his Distinction that boosted his opponents' sense of touch meant that every hit hurt about ten times as much as you'd expect. And given that he fought with a pickaxe, those hits already hurt. So, the odds were already stacked against him."_

* * *

"Ready? BATTLE!" the announcer shouted as the audience screamed. Bludgeon drew his katana and ran straight for Megatron as Deadlock shifted into streetracer mode and drove right towards him.

"Four on one doesn't seem to be a fair battle, BUT HAVE AT THEE!" Star Saber shouted as he shifted into jetplane mode and soared around the aren-

* * *

"What's a jetplane?" Ruby asked.

"... You know, like an airplane?" Bumblebee replied.

"A what?"

"... A flying, aerodynamic vehicle?" Bumblebee answered.

"Oh! You mean an airship!" Ruby replied. Bumblebee stared at the Rose/Xiao Longs.

"This planet is weird," he remarked. "Anyway…"

* * *

Straxus switched his pickaxe into crossbow mode and fired multiple Energon blasts at Megatron as Bludgeon and Deadlock closed the distance. Megatron held out his right hand, and each of the blasts splashed uselessly against his palm. As soon as Deadlock was within striking distance, Megatron transformed his right hand into an Energon mace, and struck the streetrace into a wall. Bludgeon swung his sword, and the chain of the mace-

* * *

"Flail," Ruby interrupted.

Bumblebee tried not to glare at Ruby, because as impressive a fighter she was, she was still an injured organic being, far squishier than the living war machine she had just interrupted.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Ruby said, missing the dry sarcasm in Bumblebee's tone, "When the ball is connected to the handle by a chain or rope, it's a flail. Otherwise, it's a mace."

"Megatron always called it his 'Energon Mace,'" Bumblebee replied.

"Then Megatron is wrong and should learn proper terminology," Ruby replied, "Honestly, what kind of self respecting fighter can't even get the name of their weapon right? That would be like if I called _Crescent Rose_ a sickle instead of a scythe!"

Bumblebee thought about it for a second, and then burst out laughing.

Ruby and Yang exchanged a glance.

"Okay, sorry, it's just the thought of Megatron screwing up so badly that even a lifeform who's not even a fraction of his age could see the problem is kinda hilarious," he explained, "Honestly, I'll have to remember that and let the other Autobots know, Ironhide'll probably get a kick out of it." His chuckles died down, "Anyway…"

* * *

-And the chain of the _flail_ wrapped around Bludgeon's blade. Megatron reactivated his Distinction, boosted the potency of the Energon in his melee weapon, and pulled. Bludgeon's sword was soon crushed by the chain, and Bludgeon himself was thrown over Megatron's head.

Deadlock took advantage of the distraction to shift back into robot mode and charge Megatron, blurring past him and slicing him with one of his swords. Bludgeon, meanwhile, discarded his now-useless weapon and swapped to tank mode, opening fire on Megatron. Megatron turned his Fusion cannon towards the anti-aircraft tank, only to get blindsided by Deadlock a second time.

"Oh, I see what's happening here," Straxus remarked as he shifted into tank mode, his crossbow-pickaxe becoming the gun, "Fire in the hole!"

Megatron used his Distinction to nullify the Energon in Straxus' shot, only to get blindsided by Deadlock a third time and get struck by missiles from Star Saber.

"Dreadfully sorry, Megatron!" Star Saber shouted, "But I'm afraid I must bring this skirmish to a close!" He fired two more missiles, which Megatron caught and disabled with his Distinction.

"I was getting bored anyway," Megatron retorted as he tossed the now-useless missiles aside and threw out his left arm to catch Deadlock's face in his palm. He then threw Deadlock into Bludgeon, and caught another one of Straxus' blasts.

"Why you…" Deadlock growled, before kicking off the ground, "I'll show you who's bor-" he ran straight into a blast from Megatron's Fusion Cannon, knocking him back into Bludgeon, and breaking his Projected Spark Field.

"It's still you," Megatron deadpanned, before folding into a tank, his fusion cannon forming the gun.

"Now this is starting to get interesting!" Star Saber shouted as he opened fire on Megatron. The tank waited for the jet to fly overhead, then continued to track Star Saber's movements, following after him with his gun. As soon as he locked on to the thrusters, _BANG!_

" _Gyah!_ What?" Star Saber shifted back into robot mode, rolling across the arena's floor and over Bludgeon (breaking the gladiator's Projected Spark Field), before finally coming to a stop. "You shot out my engine! That's… Actually very impressive," Star Saber admitted as he drew his sword, "Very well then, this battle shall be one for the history books!" He jumped, gaining some extra lift and propulsion with his remaining thruster, and prepared to bring down his blade. Megatron simply sidestepped, allowing for Star Saber to take one of Straxus' shots to the face.

"And then there was one," Megatron remarked as Star Saber's Projected Spark Field broke, before turning to face Straxus, "Care to fight me like a real warrior? Or would you like to surrender like the coward you are?"

Straxus roared as he shifted back into robot mode, and ran directly at Megatron, firing off blast after blast.

Megatron rolled his optics and spun his energon _flail_ in front of himself, deflecting each and every shot.

Straxus finished closing the distance and swung his pickaxe at Megatron.

Megatron's energon _flail_ wrapped around the pickaxe.

"Let go of my weapon!" Straxus shouted as he pulled on the pickaxe, "I will not be disarmed so easily!"

"If this is your only weapon, then I'm afraid you've already lost," Megatron replied as he began to warm up his fusion cannon.

"Wha-" Straxus' question was interrupted by a punch to the chest, followed by a blast from Megatron's Fusion Cannon that broke right through his Projected Spark Field.

Megatron smirked as he stood over his defeated opponents, drinking in the cheers of the audience.

"Would you look at that? An 'obsolete', mass produced relic from the days of Sentinel Prime just defeated four custom made warriors of the modern era!" he boasted, "If I can pull this off in the ring, what do you think we all could accomplish out in the streets of Kaon? What power would the Syndicates and their underlings in the City Guard hold over all of us if we stood united as one?"

The spectators fell silent, a nervous murmuring filled the stands.

"Well, Trannis, if you have a problem with me, come and face me yourself!" Megatron shouted, "All of your other attempts to take me offline have been good exercise! But they're starting to bore me!" He swept his arms out, deliberately turning away from Trannis' private booth. "Soon there will be a day when the High Council and Nominus Prime will no longer be able to ignore us! We will not be downtrodden forever! The day shall come when our voices are loud enough that they will have no choice _but_ to listen!" Megatron declared, "But of course, that will only happen when we're brave enough to raise our voices! And I don't intend to fall silent anytime soon!"

"Megatron! Megatron! Megatron!"

* * *

" _Needless to say, Trannis was not all that happy with the outcome of the match, and Megatron was pretty dang popular in Kaon. It wasn't long until he had amassed followers, and as soon as my sentence had been fulfilled, I left to seek him out. Which is easier said than done when you've ticked off a crimelord."_

* * *

"Hold it right there, thief!" B-127 froze as multiple vehicles circled him, and transformed into rather bulky robots.

"Woah there, I'm not sure if you've heard, but my sentence ended yesterday, I've done my time," B-127 replied.

"Legally, it has," the lead thug replied, "Off the books, however, the boss still needs to make an example to would-be annoyances."

"In other words, you owe him your Spark," another one of the enforces replied as he shifted his forearm into a gun, "And we're here to collect." B-127 froze, then shifted into vehicle mode to try and speed out. He was rewarded by a kick from one of the larger robots, and he shifted back into robot mode as soon as he hit the ground.

"Ready…" one of the enforcers started as the others all started charging their weapons. B-127 crossed his arms in front of his face in a vain attempt to protect his processor, only to flinch when he heard a blaster go off. He then opened his optics when he realized that he wasn't dead, even as more energon shots were going off and the enforcers were getting knocked around by a familiar energon _flail_ , smoke rising from a familiar fusion cannon.

"I always knew Trannis was a coward," Megatron started, "But this is a new low for him." He locked optics with the lead thug. "Tell your coward of a master that if he has any further quarrels with this one, that he should meet with me so that we can discuss it, personally." Megatron retracted his energon _flail_ and tapped his fusion cannon for emphasis. "I look forward to that _discussion_." The thugs transformed back into vehicle mode and fled. Megatron simply chuckled and turned to walk away.

"Thanks for the save!" B-127 called out.

"Ruining Trannis' Solar Cycle is it's own reward," Megatron replied dismissively.

"Still, I was kinda hoping I'd get the chance to meet you," B-127 explained, "Ever since that speech you gave after wiping the floor with four other gladiators, you're basically the hero of Kaon!"

"If you just wanted to tell me what I already know, I have places to go," the gladiator replied.

"I've heard that you've been taking on students and followers," B-127 continued, "I don't know the full story of what you're doing, but I know enough to know that I want in." Megatron actually paused in his step.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"My designation is B-127," B-127 answered.

"Well, B-127," megatron said as he turned with a grin, "Why don't you and I walk and talk? I'm sure that we'll find a place for you."

* * *

" _Megatron and I talked all the way to his home on the outskirts of Kaon. At the time, I had never been happier. Looking back, I can't help but wonder how I could have ever been so stupid. Still, I did meet some good people that day."_

* * *

"Megatron, where have you been?" a red, white, and blue Transformer asked.

"I was delayed on my way back from the coliseum," Megatron answered, "I may have found another recruit for the Ascenticons."

"Oh?" the other Transformer asked as he noticed B-127, "Oh." He knelt down. "Greetings, my name is Orion Pax, who are you?"

"I'm B-127," B-127 answered.

"He's one of the protoforms from Nominus Prime's failed colony plan," Megatron explained, "The poor thing was forced to steal energon to survive. But he won't have to anymore."

"Indeed," Orion Pax replied, "Megatron, Ratchet and Deadlock wanted to ask you about something. Would you mind if I introduced B-127 to the others?"

"I'll see what they want," Megatron replied as he brushed past Orion Pax, "Just be careful not to lose this one."

"We found Hauler before the Cycle was over," Orion Pax replied, a little _too_ quickly for B-127's liking. Megatron didn't acknowledge Orion as he walked off.

"So…" B-127 started.

"Not to worry, the layout of our new headquarters are far more easy to navigate than the cave we used to meet in," Orion explained as he walked off for the elevator, "The fact that most of the rooms have windows will make escaping in an emergency even easier."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" B-127 asked as he transformed into motorcycle mode to catch up, "Because it's not making me feel better!"

"This is the landing pad," Orion Pax explained as the elevator took them to a large platform, "Those of us with flight-related alt modes, such as Whirl and Thundercracker, can use this for a more convenient entrance to our headquarters."

"Okay, but I don't see anyone else here," B-127 replied, "Aren't you supposed to be introducing me to the others?"

Orion Pax simply smiled as a cargo shuttle flew overhead, hovered over the landing pad, then unfolded into a truly massive Ascenticon. B-127 looked up, and up, and up at the red, white, and gold Transformer, the pink, encircled arrow of the Ascenticons adorning his chest and pointing upwards, towards his face.

"Orion, I wasn't expecting company," he remarked as his red eyes noticed the smaller Transformer standing next to Orion Pax, "Who's your friend?"

"This is B-127," Orion Pax explained, B-127 noticing that Orion was wearing a similar insignia on his shoulder, "He wants to join us in the fight for equality."

"It's great to meet you, B-127," the larger Transformer replied as he got on one knee, "My name is Jetfire."

"Uh…" B-127 gaped at Jetfire, "What brings you here?"

"I was one of the first to join when Orion and Megatron founded the Ascenticons," Jetfire replied, amusement clear in his voice, "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

"No, I mean, you're even bigger than Megatron!" B-127 clarified, "Why would you need to join the Ascenticons? Shouldn't you already be treated with respect?"

"You'd think so," Jetfire answered, sadness entering his voice, "But my body doesn't allow me to take a research vehicle as an alt-mode. As such, 'unskilled labor' is the only career the current system will let me pursue, leaving me unable to explore the stars and uncover the answers to the questions that have plagued my mind since I first came online."

"... What?"

"He wants to be a scientist, but isn't allowed to," Orion Pax clarified.

"That's what I said," Jetfire replied.

"Your cryptic language confused your message," Orion Pax replied, "There's a reason I'm Megatron's speechwriter."

"Wait, you write Megatron's speeches?!" B-127 shouted.

"Not all of them," Orion Pax explained, "He improvises his victory speeches in the arena, I just write the ones he gives at the rallies and protests."

"Word of advice, if the speech contains the phrases 'Till all are one!' or 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings!' it's an Orion speech," Jetfire explained.

"Those are just phrases I picked up from Alpha Trion while working in the archives," Orion explained, "I can't take all the credit."

"Regardless, I should probably get back to what I was doing before," Jetfire replied, "Now where's Starscream?"

"I had been hoping to meet with him myself," Orion Pax remarked, "The reason I brought B-127 up here is because I thought he'd be coming here with you."

"Orion!" a voice called from the elevator. B-127 whirled around to see a yellow, red, and orange Transformer with flame decals running from the elevator, "There you are! Starscream called to let you know he wouldn't be able to make today's meeting. Something about experimenting with Sideways' Phase Shift Distinction and who is this?"

"Hot Rod, this is B-127," Orion Pax explained as he gestured to the smaller Transformer, "B-127, this is Hot Rod."

"Oh, are you new?" Hot Rod asked.

"Yeah… Megatron just brought me here a few Microcycles ago," B-127 answered.

"Well it's always nice to have a new face on board," Hot Rod replied with a warm grin, his fiery optics analyzing the smaller Transformer, "Hang on, is your Projected Spark Field still locked?"

"Uh…"

"Hot Rod, B-127 hasn't even finished receiving the grand tour, and I'm certain Megatron would like to be present for his initiation," Orion Pax cut in, "Regardless, we should probably continue."

* * *

" _The Ascenticons were, essentially, a group of political activists looking to abolish the restrictive caste system in hopes of improving life for everyone on Cybertron. There were a lot of good bots who wanted to make the world a better place. That didn't change that a large number of them had more selfish reasons for joining up. Still, we didn't really care about intent so long as we achieved a good result. Probably our first mistake, looking back. Still, I was there at every rally and protest, in the front row of every speech. Megatron himself unlocked my Projected Spark Field. Trained me in how to deploy it, how to conserve it, and how to use it to power my Distinction."_

* * *

"Can I see it?" a starry-eyed Ruby asked. Unlike the other times he had been interrupted, Bumblebee chuckled.

"I'd love to, but it only really works if your Projected Spark Field is deployed," he explained. Upon seeing their confused faces, he continued. "My Stinger lets me solidify my opponent;s Projected Spark Field, hold them in place for a few seconds."

"Oh…" Ruby replied.

"I would offer to demonstrate, but I don't want one of you to suffocate because I accidentally put too much force into it," Bumblebee explained, "Especially seeing how you're still healing."

* * *

" _Back on topic, everything was going well. I finally had a group of friends, a place to go to. I was at the front of every protest, cheered loudest at all the rallies, and spread Megatron's teachings to whoever would listen. We gradually picked up more and more members, and then everything went wrong."_

* * *

Orion Pax ducked behind a piece of rubble with B-127 and Hot Rod as Trannis laughed maniacally.

"You thought you could just take a shortcut through my turf and get away with it?" he taunted as his underlings opened fire, "You Decepticons have been weakening my grasp on this city, cut all of my connections, and generally refused to lay down and die like a good waste of metal!"

"It's Ascenticons!" Starscream shouted, only to fly away screaming in his jet mode the second Trannis turned to acknowledge him.

"Coward!" Megatron shouted.

"Why do we keep him around again?" B-127 asked.

"He has connections," Soundwave answered.

"Trannis, we have no quarrel with y-" an energon blast to the shoulder knocked Orion Pax on his back.

"Orion!" Hot Rod shouted.

"No Projected Spark Field? What kind of idiot are you?" Trannis asked, "Extinguish his spark!" Three of Trannis' thirteen thugs charged towards the upturned rubble in hopes of gunning down Orion Pax. Unfortunately, they failed to notice B-127 activate his Distinction, until he had jumped out of his cover and jammed his Stinger into the foot of the lead thug, solidifying his Projected Spark Field, and causing the remaining two to tumble into him. Megatron deployed his energon _flail_ and batted away all three of them.

"Hot Rod, Soundwave, tend to Orion's injury," Megatron ordered, "B-127, remember your training." He then spun his _flail_ in front of himself to form a makeshift shield as the remaining ten thugs opened fire on him. None of them noticed the black and yellow motorcycle speed right past Megatron and right towards them. As soon as B-127 got behind a thug, he activated his Distinction and jabbed his Stinger into the bot's Projected Spark Field. The thug's PSF solidified just as he was about to fire his energon pistol, causing the shot to be deflected right back down the barrel. All optics were off Megatron as the Sting wore off and the thug dropped to his knees and clutched his broken arm to cry out in agony, smoke rising from the busted limb.

"Why you litAUGH!" One blast from Megatron's fusion cannon was enough to take that thug out of the fight. Four of the thugs concentrated fire on Megatron as four opened fire on B-127. B-127 shifted into motorcycle mode and drove towards the closest, shifting back into robot mode to slice at the backs of his knees. While his Projected Spark Field kept B-127 from severing them, they did not stop his knees from buckling, allowing Megatron to score another easy hit. B-127 traded out his energon blades for his energon blasters and shot another thug in the optics. While his Projected spark Field once again prevented any serious damage, the reflexive recoil from the stinging pain caused him to to knock his partner off his feet, allowing B-127 to deliver a solid punch to the midsection that knocked him over and on top of said partner.

Trannis scowled as he watched his thugs drop one by one.

"Clearly, I'm paying you all too much if you can barely handle that half-pint," he growled, "Forget about shooting Megatron! Restrain him!" The four thugs whom had been focusing fire on Megatron shifted into vehicle mode as the three thugs from earlier untangled themselves and threw themselves onto Megatron's back.

"Why you-" Megatron grumbled as the other four circled around him. Two of them rolled into robot mode to restrain his arms, one grabbed his legs, and the last threw himself on top of the pile on his back as Trannis laughed.

"So you are good for something after all!" he mocked as his body shifted into helicopter mode, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an example to make." The propeller atop his body picked up speed, lifting his body off the ground as the propeller on his stabilizing tail allowed him to steer his movement. The missile launchers and machine guns built into the vehicle all took aim at the rubble as the disgraced crime boss ascended higher and higher. "I should probably move towards a more advantageous position." Trannis tilted forwards, and slowly flew to where Soundwave and Hot Rod were tending to Orion's injured shoulder.

"B-127! Onto my mace!" Megatron ordered as three of the goons B-127 had taken out helped the one with the broken arm. B-127 shifted into motorcycle mode, drove over to the spiked ball of Megatron's energon _flail_ , and shifted back into robot mode to balance on top of it.

"I don't see what you're tryin to do," one of the thugs announced, "There's no way you can throw us all off with your weapon pointed at the ground like tha-" Megatron fired his fusion cannon at the ground, the recoil knocking him into the air and the goons off his back.

"Now!" Megatron barked as he swung his _flail_ through the air. B-127 let go, fired his energon blasters for extra momentum, and turned to face Trannis as he activated his Distinction.

Trannis chuckled to himself as he took aim at Orion Pax's prone form.

"So sorry little Decepticon, but your story ends here!" he boasted. Right as he fired his weapons, his propeller blades came to a sudden stop as they collided with his now solid Projected Spark Field. Even when it returned to normal, the damage had been done, his propellers damaged beyond anything resembling functionability by the sudden stop, his weapons destroyed by the recoil from shooting an impenetrable barrier that had covered the barrels, and his body was descending far quicker than it had ascended. By the time his processor caught up with the world around him,

_BANG!_

B-127's groaned as he pushed himself off of the ground, Trannis' heavily dented body covered with a flickering light as his Projected Spark Field gave out.

"Let's get out of here!" one of the thugs shouted, before they all shifted into vehicle mode and sped off (one of them continually crying out in pain as his arm was still broken from the ordeal and not ready for such a hasty transformation).

" _NO!_ " Trannis cried out as his body began to shift, bits and plates of metal dropping off of his misshapen body as he forced himself to transform, "Please! _Don't leave me!_ " He finally reached robot mode, wires sticking out of various openings on his body as he coughed up smoke. "I still function!" He dropped to his knees as something important fell out of him, sparks flying from his damaged circuits. A shadow was suddenly cast over him, and Trannis looked up at Orion Pax's now standing form with fear in his optics. Even Orion's injured shoulder did little to make the file clerk look less intimidating to the broken and bleeding Trannis.

"Trannis," Orion started, "It's over."

"So now you're going to gloat?" Trannis asked.

"No," Orion answered, "I want to know why."

"Why what?" Trannis asked.

"Why you would have all of those resources, all of that power, and not use any of it to benefit those worse off than yourself?" Orion asked, "I don't understand, and I need to understand if the Ascenticons are going to change anything." Trannis laughed dryly.

"You don't get how the world works, do you?" Trannis answered, "The strong rule over the weak, and compassion is weakness. You gotta stay tough to stay on top!"

"Then why are you the one in pieces?" Orion asked.

Trannis didn't have an answer.

"That's the problem with ruling through fear," Orion continued, "the second you stop being the scariest one in the room, your followers abandon you."

"Are you seriously lecturing me right now?" Trannis asked.

"I'm trying to help you," Orion answered, "Your followers have all abandoned you, so hoarding power to yourself to rule through fear clearly isn't the way to go."

"I thought you said you weren't going to gloat."

"But what if you used that wealth to repair Kaon?" Orion asked, "What if you gave your energon to those who live off the droplets? You wouldn't _need_ to rule through fear, you would be a _hero_ to the people of Kaon. There would be many who would stand with and aid you out of sheer gratitude, even when you were at your lowest." Trannis laughed bitterly.

"Do you really think it would be that easy?"

"The right thing to do is rarely the easiest," Orion Pax replied, "But I believe that there's a little good in every Spark. And I intend to do my best to ensure that everyone I meet is at least a little better off than when I left them. Aside from that, we're Transformers. Transformation is a part of our very lives. Why not transform into something better than what you were before?"

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Trannis asked.

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," Orion answered, "If you use that freedom to decide to continue down this self destructive path, then there is little I can do to stop you other than call for the city guards you no longer control and let them put you where you can't hurt anyone else." Trannis flinched. "But that means you also have the freedom to improve yourself and restore Kaon to its former glory. I would prefer that you choose the latter, but that's a choice only _you_ can make. Regardless of what you chose, I will have Ratchet patch you up before you fall apart." Trannis looked at Orion incredulously.

"Did you seriously just say that you would rearm the bot who tried to kill you five clicks ago?" he asked.

"I didn't say that," Orion replied, an unusual edge in his voice, "I'm an optimist, not a fool. You will have to prove yourself trustworthy if you do change for the better. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to consider your options while Ratchet is repairing you." Trannis laughed, but there was no joy in his voice.

"And here I was, thinking you were some kind of idiot," he remarked, "Orion, you're really something el-" Trannis' body erupted into fire and shrapnel, reduced to burning scrap metal.

Orion Pax was knocked off his feet by the shockwave from the blast, and Hot Rod ran over to support his injured side.

"What the Pit, Megatron!" he shouted.

"He was reaching for a weapon," Megatron replied as he lowered his still-smoking fusion cannon.

"What weapon?" Hot Rod asked.

"Megatron, if we're to build a better society we need to be willing to show mercy," Orion Pax replied, "There will be penalties, but we need to prioritize fixing the problems with Cybertron's system over vengeance. Executing a defeated opponent sets a poor pre-"

"He would've never changed, and never learned!" Megatron interrupted, "In a battle you must be decisive."

"The battle was over Megatron!" Orion Pax argued, "He was in no position to hurt anyone!"

"Maybe he deserved it!" B-127 injected, "Bots like him have been walking all over bots like us for as long as I remember! Why should we give him another chance he doesn't deserve?" Orion almost looked sad as he turned towards B-127.

"What do you expect me to do, go up to Iacon and dismantle everyone there?" he asked.

"If that's what it takes," Megatron replied darkly.

"You're outvoted three to two," Soundwave cut in, "Words mean nothing unless they're backed by actions." Orion Pax turned to face the burning pile of scrap that used to be Trannis.

"Nobody had to die today."

" _He_ disagreed," Megatron replied as he, B-127, and Soundwave walked away.

* * *

Bumblebee fell silent.

"So uh… Any questions?" he asked, "I'm not done yet, but I can just summarize the events leading to the Great War pretty quickly, and I figured that would be a good time to break before Megatron really went off the deep end."

"Was Trannis really armed?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know," Bumblebee answered, "It was so long ago that I can barely even remember what he sounded like."

"And what's this about a 'Great War'?" Taiyang asked, "I can guess you're not talking about the one from 80 years ago…"

"Oh of course you guys had one too," Bumblebee remarked, "You don't have a military if there's no concept of war. And, well, that actually ties into how I got here." That startled all three of the humans in the room. "You see, Orion Pax wasn't a warrior yet, he just wanted to make Cybertron a better place. I mean, sure, he'd be willing to throw a few punches when the chips were down, but he believed that violence should be an absolute last resort, and wasn't one for executing a defeated opponent," he explained, "So, naturally, when Megatron decided to trade protests and rallies for riots and acts of vandalism, he split off and formed his own faction." He opened his right hand, and the holographic projection of a red, almost humanoid face appeared, it's eyes and mouth serene. It almost resembled a shield. "The Autobots used the same tactics that the Ascenticons used to, protests, rallies, civil disobedience, and the occasional malicious compliance." He chuckled as the hologram dissolved, "The smart bots jumped ship to join the Autobots. I… Wasn't one of the smart ones. But eventually, everything _almost_ worked out."

* * *

" _One day, some incriminating evidence was released, and Nominus Prime was arrested for breaking one of his own laws, freeing up the Matrix of Leadership for a new leader. Megatron was so sure that he'd be the one to receive it, given the sheer number of Ascenticons in every city. To his surprise, the High Council instead elected to make Orion Pax the new Prime. Orion was shocked, and Megatron was furious. He left Iacon for the nearby city of Polyhex, to the top of the Ascenticons' HQ of Darkmount, to brood. That was when I saw his true colors for the first time."_

* * *

Megatron reclined in his throne with a scowl. His throne was opposite a window that gave him a view of the entire Polyhex skyline. The new Ascenticon logo adorned the wall behind his throne. The arrow had been inverted and expanded into a horned face with two glaring eyes, and the circle had been removed from the design. Soundwave and Shockwave stood at his right and left respectively.

"Megatron, you have a visitor," B-127 as he entered through a side door.

"Oh?" Megatron remarked.

"Megatron, we need to talk," Orion Pax announced as he followed B-127 into the room.

"Are you here to gloat? Oh _mighty_ Prime!" Megatron growled.

"No, I am here to make an offer, old friend," Orion Pax replied. That seemed to shock Megatron, Soundwave, and Shockwave.

"You have my attention," Megatron replied as he reclined back into his throne.

"Even if we've disagreed on methods, the goal we've both been working towards is finally within reach," Orion started, "However, the simple fact is that you have far more experience with leadership than I do." Megatron grinned. "As such, I was hoping that you could be my chief advisor." The grin vanished.

" _What?_ "

"Given your own experience with the worst Cybertron has to offer, I cannot imagine how I can fix this world without your experience," Orion Pax explained as Megatron rose to his feet.

"Is that all you have to offer?" Megatron asked.

"That is the most I can," Optimus replied, "It would set a poor precedent if my first action as Prime were to go against the wishes of the Council meant to limit the power of the Primes."

"If I were Prime, things would be different," Megatron remarked.

"We'll see," Orion replied, "After all, if anything happened to me, my advisor would probably be the first the High Council would consider."

"Why wait that long?" Megatron asked. B-127 did a double take as soon as the words registered.

"Wha-"

"I don't understand," Orion Pax replied, shaken, "At least, I hope I don't."

"Then let me clarify, this charade is over," Megatron replied as he walked towards Orion, the Autobot leader backing away to keep his distance, "You really shouldn't be surprised, you see, the Fallen's name was Megatronus, something you would have known if my mentor's name hadn't been struck from the record! He told me the truth about the Primes, and how the Matrix of Leadership controls the mechanisms of Cybertron. He knew that he didn't have much time left, and so trained me to carry on his legacy! I promised him that I would never settle for anything less than the Matrix of Leadership itself! But I was smart enough to realize that I would need followers to claim it."

"But, you said the freedom is the right of all sentient beings!" Orion protested, "Was all of that a lie?"

"Those were _your_ words Orion! Not mine!" Megatron interrupted, "As much of an annoyance Trannis was, he was right about the nature of the world! Your compassion made you oh so easy to manipulate, but your charisma made you the obvious choice for my speechwriter! But words without action mean nothing." Orion's back hit the glass window as Megatron stood over him. "So Orion, I will only say this once," the Ascenticon leader continued as he pointed his fusion cannon at Orion Pax's chest, "Give me the Matrix of Leadership, and I _might_ spare your life."

"I haven't yet received it," Orion replied. Megatron growled as he charged his fusion cannon.

"Wrong answer."

_BANG!_

The window shattered as Orion Pax was blasted through it, the light of his optics flickering out alongside his Projected Spark Field as he plummeted to the city streets below.

"Now that that nuisance has been dealt with," Megatron began, "B-127, send out a message to all of the Ascenticons, it's high time to bring down the High Council, claim the Matrix of Leadership, and remake Cybertron in the image of their glorious leader." B-127 wordlessly activated his comm, and began a group call with Jetfire and Ultra Magnus.

"You want me to spread the word?"

"Yes," Megatron replied, "We will march on Iacon immediately."

" _B? Does Megatron need something?"/"B-127? How did you get this num-"_

"Megatron's murdered Orion Pax! He's going to attack Iacon to claim the Matrix of Leadership, you have to get ready for-" he was cut off when Megatron's energon flail smashed him into a wall.

" _Megatron what?!"/"The Prime is dead? B-127 what is Megatron going to attack with?"_

"Kill him," Megatron ordered Shockwave and Soundwave, "I'll give the order myself." He activated his comm, and began broadcasting to all Ascenticons.

"Greetings my loyal followers! As you have no doubt learned, the High Council made the dreadful mistake of putting that traitorous _weakling_ Orion Pax in charge of Cybertron. I have personally rectified that mistake, _by extinguishing his Spark_. However, he did not have the Matrix of Leadership with him, so now it falls onto us to claim the Matrix, and turn the tables on who is oppressed. The time for talk is over, Decepticons, _TRANSFORM AND RISE UP!_ "

* * *

"I wasn't able to defeat Shockwave and Soundwave, but I was able to escape," Bumblebee explained as Taiyang, Yang, and Ruby listened with varying levels of shock on their faces, "What followed was the most chaotic day in Cybertron's history as every city became a warzone."

"He killed his friend… That easily?" Ruby asked

"Megatron tried," Bumblebee replied, "But by some miracle, Orion was reactivated by the end of the battle. But a lot of good bots died that day, including Orion's creator, Alpha Trion."

Ruby tried to imagine what it would be like to lose her father in a battle her sister had started, but found that she couldn't imagine Yang doing anything that cruel.

"That said, the experience changed him," Bumblebee continued, "His body had been upgraded into a bulkier form, he unlocked his Distinction, and changed his name to Optimus Prime. While he never lost sight of his core values, his optimism never recovered."

Yang tried to imagine Ruby without her endless optimism and hopeful attitude, but stopped when the mental image became too depressing to dwell on.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that, but how did you end up here?" Taiyang asked.

"There were a lot of battles, the war spread to Cybertron's colony worlds, my voice box was ripped out and replaced," Bumblebee explained, "But eventually, Megatron poisoned Cybertron itself in a great act of spite, and we were forced to evacuate. Optimus gathered together the Autobots he trusted the most, and we boarded _the Ark_ in order to try and track down an uninhabited world we could Cyberform into a new Cybertron. Unfortunately, we began to run low on energon."

* * *

"Ratchet, what's your prognosis?" Optimus asked.

"The Ark can most definitely reach that power source we detected," Ratchet replied, "The only issue is that it can't reach that power source and keep all of us alive at the same time."

"Seriously?" Sideways remarked, "We're already rationing energon, what else can we do?"

"There is the stasis ward," Optimus answered. The gathered Autobots looked at Optimus with a look of shock on their faces.

"You can't be serious!" Sideways replied, "We can't fly the ship if we're all in stasis!"

"I'll see about having Ratchet and Wheeljack hooking up some stasis pods to Teletraan-1," Optimus continued, "I will go into stasis here, and let the Matrix of Leadership handle the piloting."

"Optimus this has never been done before!" Ratchet protested.

"The Matrix is homing in on this power source," Optimus replied, "It will keep us on track."

"I trust Optimus," B-127 cut in. All optics were on him. "He hasn't steered us wrong before," he defended with a shrug.

"Oh sure, let's trust the guy who just sat there and let Megatron shoot Optimus without even thinking to Sting old buckethead, that can't possibly backfire!" Sideways replied, "If we're attacked while we're all in stasis, we might die before we reach our battle stations!"

"If we don't reach that power source, we will die _without_ a battle," Optimus stated. Everyone fell silent. "I don't like this anymore than the rest of you do, but this is our only hope for survival."

* * *

" _After that, I woke up in the bottom of a hole, my homing beacon had been stolen from my stasis pod, and when I climbed out…"_

* * *

"Intruder! Identify yourself!"

* * *

"After I took out the Sparkless drones, I got attacked by a member of your species who was able to spawn monsters with her Distinction. Then I fought a lot of guys in white uniforms, reclaimed and hid my homing beacon, scanned a red motorcycle to change my alt-mode after a blue fireball took out my Projected Spark Field, and found myself getting purchased by three organic life forms and trying to find some way to sneak out so I could get my homing beacon and find the Ark's crashsite," Bumblebee finished, "Any questions?"

"Wait, you're the Mantlite bomb?!" Ruby shouted.

"… I'm the what now?" Bumblebee replied.

"Scratch that, you got into a fight with the Atlesian Military!" Taiyang shouted.

"… If they're led by a scary woman who fights with runes and frosty monsters she spawns from them, then yeah," Bumblebee answered, "Why, is that a bad thing?"

"Atlas has the strongest military on the planet," Ruby replied, "Most places just settle for a militia that defends the city borders while the Huntsmen and Huntresses go out to deal with the Grimm in the wilds. The fact that most of the Atlesian Military's leadership positions are filled by licensed Huntsmen and Huntresses is both highly controversial and part of what makes them so dangerous to enemies of Atlas like the Creatures of Grimm and White Fang."

All eyes were on Ruby.

"What? I did some digging in case Yang didn't go to Beacon," she replied.

"Anyway, I've been trying to sneak away to get that homing beacon so that I could use the energon synthesizer to refuel," Bumblebee continued, "It might not have been enough to sustain the whole crew in the long term, but with my stasis pod nonfunctional, it's pretty much the only way to top off my fuel reserves and stay online."

"Where did you hide the homing beacon?" Yang asked, "We could go there and fetch it after dark."

"Yang, you cannot be serious," Taiyang replied, "If you get caught with an enemy of the Atlesian Military-"

"Dad, he blew his cover to save me and Ruby," Yang interrupted, "The least we can do is return the favor."

"Oh no, I don't want you getting in trouble," Bumblebee replied, "Besides, all Transformers are self-driving in vehicle mode."

"And I'm pretty sure a self-driving motorcycle would be pretty conspicuous if you don't have a passenger," Yang replied, "Sorry Bee, but unless you want to get strapped to a lab table in Atlas, you're not going to be able to do this alone."

"Yang…" Taiyang started, before sighing. "Look, I can get in touch with someone I used to work for and see if he can't help with the whole Atlesian Military thing, in the meantime, you and Ruby need to rest up if you want to heal from that Grimm attack." He looked up at Bumblebee. "Will you be okay until… This time tomorrow night?"

"As long as I don't suffer any grievous injuries," Bumblebee replied, "I suppose I could use the rest anyway."

"Right… I guess this is my life now," Taiyang remarked, "Speaking of… Girls, you need to get ready for bed."

"Huh… It has been a long day…" Ruby replied, "But i don't think it's tha-" She yawned. "Okay, it is that late. Goodnight Bumble… B-12-"

"Like I told Yang earlier, Bumblebee's as good a name as any, and 'B-127' was more of a serial number than a name," Bumblebee interrupted, before turning to face Taiyang, "That reminds me, is 'Dad' your actual name, or…"

"My name is Taiyang Xiao Long," Taiyang interrupted, "Pleasure to officially meet you… I guess…"

"Oh, I don't think you've met Zwei yet!" Ruby shouted before dashing out of the garage to fetch the family's corgi. Bumblebee glanced at Yang.

"Is she always like this?" he asked as Ruby's calls for Zwei echoed through the house.

"Ruby, you can introduce him in the morning!" Taiyang answered, "Please just get ready for bed!"

"Okay!" Ruby called back as Yang laughed.

"Never change Rubes, never change," she remarked, "Well, goodnight Bee, see you in the morning!" She walked out of the garage, leaving Bumblebee alone with the man of the house.

"… So about any disturbances my attempts to sneak away might have caused…" he started.

"Please don't make me regret letting you stay here," Taiyang interrupted, "I'm going to get in touch with that contact I mentioned, and see if there's anything he can do to help, in the meantime…" He smiled. "Thank you for saving my daughters. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if anything happened to them."

"I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if they died when there was something I could've done to prevent it," Bumblebee replied, "Besides, I need to be on good terms with _somebody_ if we're stuck on this planet for the long haul."

"Makes sense," Taiyang replied, "That said, if you hurt either of my girls-"

"You'll kill me?"

"If I'm feeling merciful," Taiyang answered.

"I'd ask what would possibly be worse than death, but I'm scared you might have an answer," Bumblebee replied. Taiyang laughed.

"Either way, goodnight, and thanks again," he replied as he walked out of the garage, turning off the lights behind him. Bumblebee's glowing eyes were the only source of light in the dark room.

"… Welp, looks like I'm bunking here for the time being," he remarked as he folded back into vehicle mode, "I guess there's nothing left to do but see what tomorrow holds."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put together multiple references to RWBY and Transformers canon in this chapter. Can you spot all of them? Also, poor Trannis, he went from a former leader of the Decepticons in G1 to a low-level crimelord in my fanfiction, and then when I decided to have him be responsible for the attack that leads to the rift between Orion Pax and Megatron, he ends up dying a horrible death. I based Cybertron mostly off of it's IDW and Aligned versions, with all of the characters mentioned in Bumblebee's story existing in at least one of those versions. Except for Hauler, he's based off a character who appeared in just ONE episode of the G1 cartoon (in it's pilot, no less) before mysteriously disappearing due to his toy being discontinued. Also, if anything Bumblebee said seems inconsistent, that's because I redid the first chapter so that Winter's decision to attack Bumblebee came less out of left field. If I forgot to update the prologue, please let me know in the comments so I can go and fix that NOW.  
> Update 7/20/2020: Corrected the spelling of "Tsieshi", altered the name of the Energon to match with the Regenesis Ore, put Megatron's Fusion Cannon on the proper arm, and explained why Bumblebee was so quick to discard "B-127" as his name.


	4. Chapter 3: Cultural Exchange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This story has a TV Tropes page, go check it out! And maybe add a link to the AO3 version of the story! I'd link to it here, but I don't know how to do that.  
> Also, as soon as this chapter's up I'm going to be making one final tweak to the prologue to remove Winter's elemental Glyphs and make the energy wave more logical.

_The Ursa Major tossed Yang's body aside and plucked Ruby off the ground._

" _Y-Yang!" Ruby was four years old all over again, covered in dirt and completely unarmed, "Please, help m-" There was a splash of red as the Ursa Major's jaws snapped shut on the girl's head. It turned to face Yang, Ruby's blood pouring from its jaws as it tossed her headless body at Yang's feet._

" _No…"_

" _No wonder she left you, Yang," the Ursa Major said, "You're weak and useless." Yang screamed and threw her arms back, riding the explosion to punch the Ursa Major. She passed right through it as it laughed._

" _Yang?" Ruby's voice echoed. Yang whirled around to face the speaker, only to see a white, hooded cape._

" _Mommy!" a now much younger Yang shouted, her pigtails trailing behind her as she ran towards the woman._

" _You're not my daughter," the woman coldly replied. Yang paused in her step._

" _W-Wha…"_

" _You're the product of the greatest mistake my beloved Tai ever made!" the woman turned around. Yang Xiao Long remembered how kind, patient, and loving Summer Rose had been. This Summer had nothing but contempt for the weak little girl kneeling in front of her in her silver gaze. "My daughter's name is Ruby Rose, and you nearly got her killed!"_

_The two of them now stood outside a familiar old shack, snarling Beowolves emerging from the shadows to surround a familiar red wagon._

" _Qrow should have taken Ruby and left you to them!" Summer shouted, "I treat you like my own daughter, and you nearly get my_ real _daughter killed in the name of some hair-brained scheme!"_

" _I-I didn't mean to," Yang cried._

" _And even now you were too weak to protect her when it really mattered!" Summer continued as the Beowolves began to circle them, "Leaving Ruby's life in your hands was the biggest mistake of my life." Summer dissolved into white petals as the Beowolves snarled._

" _No! Come back!" Yang shouted, "Please! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I-" The Beowolves pounced._

Yang awoke with a gasp in the darkness of her room. She sat up to steady her breath as she rose a hand to her head and wiped the sweat off her brow. As her breath evened, she hugged her legs to her chest and sobbed.

* * *

"I trust you understand the gravitas of this mission, Qrow," Ozpin opened, "Now that the Autumn has surfaced, we need to secure her before the enemy finds her…"

"Relax Oz, it's not my first escort mission," Qrow Branwen replied, "I'll keep an eye open for that muscle-brained traitor." The two men were in Ozpin's office in Beacon Tower, the sun just peeking over the horizon as Ozpin sat in his chair at the desk and the dusty Huntsman leaning against a wall by the elevator.

"Are you certain you won't be distracted?" Ozpin asked, "I can easily send for Glynda to carry out the escort."

"Until this whole bomb situation is sorted out, I'd best steer clear of Patch," Qrow replied, "You know I don't like testing my luck when my nieces are concerned. The farther away I am, the safer they'll be."

"Just making sure," Ozpin replied, "Amber's life depends on you being completely focused on the mission, and that means I need you to be sober for the duration." Qrow scoffed.

"C'mon Oz, I'm not _that_ bad," Qrow lied.

Ozpin lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay fine! I'll steer clear of the bars until she's safe and sound," Qrow promised, "But the second it's over, I want my flask back!"

"You'll have to fill it yourself," Ozpin deadpanned, "Still, thank you for volunteering for this mission. It's certainly less of a headache than having to swear in a wildcard or trying to convince Ironwood to escort her here instead of into some kind of Maiden Strike Force in Atlas." Qrow snorted.

"Why did we let him in again?" he asked.

"Because we needed Atlas' headmaster to know about the relic he's supposed to guard," Ozpin answered, "Besides, if we're ever in the situation where we need a lot of manpower without recruiting a dangerous number of people, having the commander and chief of the Atlesian Military on speed dial could be the difference between victory and the end of the world."

"I suppose so," Qrow replied, "Anyway, I should probably head out before Jimmy decides to 'help' in that special way that never seems to actually help. See you!" Ozpin watched Qrow depart on the elevator before sighing.

"Between the bomb and the Fall Maiden, I think I've had enough excitement for one year," he remarked, "And yet more issues keep popping up." He took out his Scroll and looked over the message that he had received the previous night.

_An issue that came up that we need to discuss in person. Can't leave Patch atm, would it be possible to come here?_

"I'll see what Glynda thinks of this," Ozpin decided as he dialed her number, "This is a strange request for him to make…"

* * *

Yang groaned as she trudged out of her bedroom. It was hard to sleep when she saw all the creative ways a Grimm could kill her sister every time she closed her eyes.

 _The fact that I got any sleep at all is a miracle,_ she thought to herself, even if she wasn't sure how much sleep she had actually gotten. Yang didn't have time to dwell on her sleep (or the lack thereof) as she stumbled into a red, white, and black shape and tumbled to the ground, surrounded by what appeared to be a bunch of comics.

"Yang?" the shape, Ruby, remarked, "You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"Just had some trouble sleeping," Yang replied, "I'll take a nap after breakfast, and then everything should be fine." Silver eyes looked over her in concern. "I'm fine Rubes, really. If I was able to recover from that Beowolf attack I can recover from this."

"Beowolf attack?" Ruby asked. It was at that moment that Yang remembered that Ruby had slept through the attack and been too young to really remember it even if she hadn't.

"Long story," Yang lied, "But how are you holding up?"

"I had one nightmare," Ruby admitted, "But after Zwei came in for cuddles I was out like a light!" Yang tried not to squee at the adorable mental image and picked up one of the scattered comics.

" _Challenge of the Go-Bots?_ " she read aloud.

"Oh, I was thinking of showing these to Bumblebee," Ruby replied, "I mean, sure, the Go-Bots are technically cyborgs and not robots, but given that they're transforming aliens, I thought he might find the coincidence funny."

"Weren't you going to introduce him to Zwei?" Yang asked. The look of panic on Ruby's face was priceless.

"I knew I was forgetting something!" she dispersed into a cloud of petals that flew right back the way she came, leaving her comics to flutter around on the wind she left in her wake.

"I'd better pick these up for her," Yang remarked with a grin as she heard Ruby collide with something ("Ow!"). She then frowned as her stomach growled. "Then I need to get a bite to eat…"

Breakfast had been somewhat awkward. Taiyang kept glancing at his Scroll nervously, Ruby had scarfed down her food then parked next to Zwei to wait for him to finish eating so she could introduce him to Bumblebee, while Yang struggled to keep her eyes open as she slowly munched on her food.

"You okay Yang?" Taiyang asked.

"Just had some trouble sleeping," Yang replied, "Like I told Ruby, I'll take a nap once I've eaten."

"If you're sure…"

"Are you ready to meet Bumblebee, Zwei?" Ruby asked as soon as the corgi in question emptied his food dish.

Zwei yipped in response. Ruby grinned and picked up the corgi.

"Ruby," Yang remarked as she finally finished her breakfast, "You do remember that Zwei will follow you if you ask, right?"

"... But then I wouldn't get to carry him," Ruby protested as she hugged the corgi to her chest.

A few seconds of silence followed.

"... Never change Ruby," Yang replied, before yawning, "Never change."

* * *

Bumblebee woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door to the Rose/Xiao Long garage. He resisted the urge to transform into robot mode, noting that if this "Atlesian Military" had tracked him down, it could easily be a trick to get him to switch into robot mode and face him down in confined quarters. Granted, he'd still fare better than one of his larger comrades, like Cliffjumper, Ironhide, Blaster, or one of the many other red Autobots the young scout knew. Bumblebee found himself wondering why they didn't go for more varied paint jobs, especially given the whole "robots in disguise" mantra that Mirage had drilled into his processor. Then again Mirage had a bad habit of impersonating rare and expensive vehicles.

"Hey Bumblebee, you awake?" Yang asked, assuring Bumblebee that he was safe for the time being.

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied as he shifted back into robot mode, "How are you holding up?" Yang Xiao Long shuffled into the room.

"I'm holding up just fine!" she very blatantly lied. Bumblebee shifted a metal plate resembling an eyebrow slightly upward.

"You sure?" he asked, "I haven't had the chance to interact with a lot of organic races, but I can recognize fatigue when I see it."

"I'll be fine once I've had my nap," Yang insisted.

"... If you're sure…" Ruby soon followed through the door, holding a small black and white mass of fur in her arms.

"Good morning Bumblebee!" she greeted, "This is Zwei!"

The adorable little mass yipped in greeting.

"Uh… Hi?" Bumblebee replied, somewhat confused. Zwei jumped out of Ruby's arms and scampered over to the Autobot scout, pawing at his big, metal foot. "... What?"

"I think he wants you to pet him," Yang replied, before yawning.

Zwei yipped, as if in confirmation. Bumblebee knelt down, still confused, and stroked Zwei's back with one finger.

"Good…" he paused, "Ball of fuzz?" He looked up at Yang. "Okay, what exactly is Zwei?"

"He's a corgi," she answered, "A type of dog."

"Oh…" he glanced down at Zwei, who gave him what looked like a dopey smile, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"You have no idea what that means, do you?" Yang asked.

"Not the slightest," Bumblebee confirmed. Yang sighed.

"Ruby, why don't you try and explain while I take my nap?" she asked, "It is _way_ too early for this."

One extra hour of sleep made a surprising amount of difference, and as soon as Yang had showered and brushed her teeth, she was back in the garage with Bumblebee, repairing one of Ember Cellica's gauntlets on a workbench.

"I'm definitely going to have to go into Vale to get more ammunition," Yang remarked, "It looks like a lot of my explosive rounds were ruined when the Ursa Major bit my arm."

"Look at the bright side," Bumblebee started, "Had your Aura broken a second sooner, the Ursa probably would've ripped it off." Yang winced.

"That would've definitely ruined my plans," she replied, "There's no way we'd be able to afford a prosthetic that would be able to match the amount of fighting I'd have to do as a Huntress."

"A what?" Bumblebee asked.

"A Huntress," Yang replied, "You know how this planet's crawling with the Creatures of Grimm?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee answered, "I can imagine it must make camping an extreme sport."

"As long as you have someone on guard duty, you camp in a designated 'safe area', and everyone's Auras are unlocked, it's not as dangerous as you'd think," Yang replied, "But anyway, they're attracted to negativity: sorrow, fear, rage, and similar emotions, and want to kill mankind: i.e. humans and Faunus, and their creations. To combat that, the best of the best train to become Huntsmen, Huntresses, and/or whatever the gender neutral term for that is."

"Hunter?"

"No, that's someone who hunts animals for food," Yang replied, "Regardless, we spend four years training at one of the four Academies to hone our skills, master our Auras, and eventually get set loose on the world. On paper, Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't really supposed to be loyal to any one Kingdom over another, instead serving as defenders of humanity as a whole. They choose their workload from Mission Boards, or get a job at a Combat School or Huntsman Academy to train future generations. A Huntress answers only to herself."

"So… You're training to become a bounty hunter?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not exactly," Yang replied, "Typically, missions on the mission board are to provide security on convoys, hunt down particularly troublesome Grimm, or to work with police to hunt down a particularly dangerous criminal. In some _very_ rare cases, the local headmaster can call in all of the local Huntsmen and Huntresses in order to deal with an emergency, like a Grimm incursion, but I don't think anything like that has happened since I was born."

"Wait, you have Headmasters here?" Bumblebee remarked.

"Yeah," Yang answered, "Why wouldn't we?"

"I mean, I've never seen an organic race develop Binary Bonding before," Bumblebee opened, "Not to mention the odds of an organic being surviving the surgery needed to have their cranial structure merged with a smaller lifeform are incredibly-"

"Wait… What do you think a Headmaster is?" Yang replied, "Because I meant 'Headmaster' as in the lead teacher."

"Oh, I thought you meant like a smaller being becoming the head of a larger life form," Bumblebee replied.

" _That's a thing?_ " Yang asked.

"It's usually only done in medical emergencies," Bumblebee explained, "Nebulos is where the technology really took off though! And… Wait, what were we talking about?"

"You were curious about what a Huntress is," Yang replied.

"Oh yeah, the privatized national defense," Bumblebee remarked, "I've never really seen anything quite like it before… Except for contract killers like Lockdown…"

"Bumblebee, this system was put into place after the Great War, which ended in the largest Grimm attack in recorded history," Yang explained, "It's a very dangerous job where you either die young, suffer an injury that forces you to retire, or do what Dad did and shift focus to training future generations. Huntsmen and Huntresses do work for groups and communities, not individuals. The very point of the system is to encourage peace and commerce between the four Kingdoms!" She sighed as the image of a silver-eyed woman in a white hood came to mind. "Some are only in it for the paycheck, but the job is just so dangerous that most are either in it to protect humanity as a whole or for the thrill of the hunt." Bumblebee glanced at Yang.

"Which are you?" he asked.

"I've always wanted to see the world," Yang replied with a shrug, "I don't really want a stable, certain life. I want every day to be an adventure, to have no idea what new mess I could find myself in when I get up the next day, to stare into the darkness and make it blink." She grinned. "Saving lives for a living is really just the icing on the cake."

"The what on the what?" Bumblebee asked.

"You'll figure it out if you hang around here long enough for a birthday," Yang replied with a wave of her hand.

"So saving lives is secondary to your thrill seeking?"

"I'd never deliberately put someone in harm's way to play hero, if _that's_ what you're asking," Yang replied, an edge in her voice that made Bumblebee flinch, "That's a good way to get sued and/or jailed if you're lucky enough to survive long enough to be sued or jailed. But honestly, I just can't imagine being anything but a Huntress. It's what I've dreamed about my whole life. And it's a job I don't intend to half-ass." Bumblebee flinched a second time when Yang turned to face him for that last statement.

"Sorry for implying otherwise," the Autobot replied, hoping he hadn't already managed to irrevocably screw up with the Rose/Xiao Longs, "So… What's with those Grimm anyway?"

"Nobody knows," Yang answered, her tone and countenance softening ( _Oh thank Primus!_ Bumblebee thought), "They pretty much ignore plants and animals except when fighting over territory, and mindlessly hunt down humans and Faunus in order to kill them. They don't need to eat, but some choose to in order to scare their still living prey to make tracking them easier. There are recorded instances of some particularly smart Grimm watching two people fight to the death only to kill the victor immediately after it's done. That Ursa we fought yesterday was smart enough to keep Ruby alive to use her as bait! They never get tired, they never get hungry, they can't be reasoned with, and we don't know anything about where they come from!" She closed her eyes. "What makes it worse is that the Grimm either ignore each other or work together in order to kill their 'prey'! And if you capture one live and try to study it, it'll either bust out to kill you, or waste away to death if it can't do that! And given that they dissolve on death…"

"... Okay, even if they weren't a threat to civilization I can see how that would be annoying," Bumblebee replied, "Jetfire would probably short circuit from sheer frustration."

"Just tell him to focus on the best ways to kill a Grimm and how it fights and he'll probably have a field day," Yang replied as she reattached the gauntlet to her arm, "Alright, looks like I got all the dents out! Now I just need to check and see if Rubes and Dad need anything."

"Okay, so in addition to some more explosive rounds for Ember Celica, we just need to pick up an extra carton of milk, a bag of dogfood for Zwei, and some gravity rounds for Crescent Rose," Yang read off the sheet of paper she was holding, "Is there anything we need to get for you?"

"The engine that came with this alt-mode should let me use the local fuel source to power pretty much everything but my laser core," Bumblebee replied. Yang blinked.

"Your what?"

"It's the organ that keeps my body functioning," Bumblebee answered, "Some bots call it the 'Spark Chamber' because of how critical it is in keeping us alive. And once it stops… There's no way to really restart it."

"Oh," Yang remarked, then the implications of what Bumblebee just said hit her like a truck, " _Oh…_ "

"Yeah, so while I will need to ingest some actual Energon eventually, this 'Combustion Dust' the G1-Dustfire is supposed to run on should buy me some time," Bumblebee replied, "Once I get my homing beacon back, it'll just be a matter of figuring out where on Remnant I need to go, and how to get there." The more Bumblebee talked, the more bleak his situation appeared to be.

"How long do you have?" Yang asked.

"I dunno," Bumblebee replied, "I don't feel that emptiness that used to be a constant back in Kaon, so we probably have _plenty_ of time."

Yang let out a sigh of relief, glad that her new friend wasn't on death's door quite yet.

"Although if you're still worried, when I start to run low on energon, my body will shut down my ranged weapons and start rerouting all of my energon to my laser core," Bumblebee explained, "I'll end up becoming more lethargic and my electrical and magnetic sensitivity will become more, well, _sensitive_ to help me locate more energon."

"In that case, we should probably stop by a Dust station on our way to town," Yang replied, "And I'm ready to go as soon as you are!" Bumblebee grinned and folded back into motorcycle mode, letting Yang climb on as the garage door opened. Bumblebee's engine began to rumble.

"Hold it!" Taiyang shouted as he barged into the garage, "Where do you two think you're going?"

"... Shopping," Yang answered after a brief pause.

"Not without this you're not," Taiyang replied as he held up Yang's helmet, "Remember what I said when we picked him up?"

"Oh… Right…" Yang blushed as she took the helmet from her father, "Sorry, we kinda started talking, I learned he could starve to death if we don't get him to his ship in time, and-"

"Relax," Taiyang interrupted, "As long as you remember to wear your helmet in the future, I'm going to let it slide just this once."

"Thank you," Yang replied as she strapped on the helmet.

"Don't mention it," Taiyang replied as he handed his daughter a water bottle, "I also thought you might be kinda thirsty."

"It was getting kinda hot in here," Yang remarked as she uncapped the bottle and took a sip, missing the mischievous glint in her father's eye.

"Just remember to always use protection when you're riding Bumblebee," Taiyang said. Yang Xiao Long sputtered and coughed up some of the water.

" _DID YOU HAVE TO WORD IT LIKE THAT?!_ "

"If you had remembered your helmet, I wouldn't have needed to," her father replied with an all too maniacal grin.

"I don't get it," Bumblebee replied.

" _And thank God for that!_ " Yang replied as she sped out of the garage to get away from that awkward situation.

"Dad, why did Yang just scream?" Ruby asked as she poked her head out the door.

* * *

"Can you believe we missed all the action the other day?" an Atlesian soldier asked his counterpart.

"I can't believe we got relocated from Mistral," the soldier next to him said as she cleaned her gun, "We were so close to finding Sienna Khan but _no_ , we have to come here to diffuse a bomb from a bygone era! Except _somehow_ the Valeans are too stupid to tell the difference between a bomb and a _freaking motorcycle!_ "

"I don't get what's got Winter so worried about that thing anyway," the first soldier remarked, "I mean, how much damage can a motorcycle cause?"

"Hey, it's an easy promotion if we can catch it," the second pointed out, right as Yang sped past on Bumblebee.

"... What color was the motorcycle again?" the first asked.

"Yellow and black," the second answered.

"And what color was the bike that girl just drove past on?" the first continued. The second grinned.

"Just the right color for our paycheck," she answered.

"Oh grapes," Yang cursed as she heard the police siren and pulled over. She was soon approached by two Atlesian soldiers on white motorcycles of their own, the sirens seeming to come from them. "Can I help you officers?" she asked.

"Yeah miss, we're looking for a stolen motorcycle that matches the color scheme of the one you're riding," the male one remarked.

"My dad can verify that we bought this completely legally last week," Yang replied.

"Shut up kid!" the female one snapped, "We're soldiers, not cops!"

"Last time I checked, the local militia doesn't have the authority to make arrests," Yang replied.

"The Atlesian Military has ever since we merged with the police force," the first soldier stated.

"Does that include out of Kingdom arrests?" Yang asked.

"Quiet!" _SMACK!_

Bumblebee's engine rumbled with a near-animalistic growl as Yang rubbed her cheek and her eyes turned red.

"Now listen here," the soldier who had hit Yang continued, oblivious to Valean girl's fury, "We're dealing with a very delicate situation here, and if you're not with us." She cocked her gun for emphasis as a white car drove up on the road behind them.. "- You're against us. So I suggest that you think very carefully before you mouth off, and consider the position you're in."

"What the Hell are you idiots doing!?"

"Special Operative Schnee!" both soldiers shouted as they turned to salute the newcomer, who was just now stepping out of the car and looked about ready to tear out their throats with her bare hands.

"We found the motorcycle you put out an alert for," the male one shouted.

"This Valean _brat_ was being uncooperative, so I was going to teach her to respect the Atlesian Military!" the one who had smacked Yang added. Judging by the way Winter's eyebrow was twitching, she wasn't amused.

"We're an army, not the Mystrali Cartel," Winter replied, "And we're in enough hot water with the Vale Council as is with this whole bomb situation!"

"But… The bike…" both soldiers were tackled to the ground by frosty Beowolf facsimiles.

"The motorcycle we're looking for is not a production model," Winter started, her stoic facade betrayed only by the furious snarling of her Bewolves, "This girl is riding a G1 Dustfire! A sports motorcycle!" She stepped over the soldiers (still pinned by her Beowolves) to approach Yang. "I am terribly sorry for their behavior," she started, "If you could let me handle disciplining them and not mention this to the local authorities…" She handed Yang a few Lien cards.

"Double your offer and we have a deal," Yang replied. Winter handed over a few more Lien cards.

"Again, terribly sorry, I don't know what they were thinking," she continued.

"Maybe they were jealous of my sweet ride," Yang replied, "Bumblebee _is_ a pretty cool bike!" Yang rode off as the fake Beowolves picked up the two soldiers so Winter could shout at them some more.

"Wow… I never thought I'd be happy to see her," Bumblebee commented, "A second there I was worried I'd have to blow my cover."

"I could've handled it," Yang replied.

"You sure?"

"Bee, I'm training to fight monsters and regularly beat up criminals to get information on someone I'm looking for," Yang answered, "I could easily wipe the floor with a couple of Atlesian thugs and call the cops on them for impersonating local law enforcement. They might act like they own the place, but the Atlesian Military has _very_ little authority outside of the Kingdom of Atlas. They can help local law enforcement, but if they start to overstep their bounds, the Vale Council can tell them where to shove it. Just… You know, politely and with a lot of legalese."

"That makes sense," Bumblebee replied, "I think. Why do you call them Kingdoms when there aren't any kings?"

"Because up until the Great War, they _were_ run by Kings," Yang replied, "The Last King of Vale abdicated the throne and established the Council System in all four Kingdoms as part of the peace treaty, so that the people could govern themselves."

"Oh! Kinda like the High Council back on Cybertron!" Bumblebee remarked, "Granted, the High Council on Cybertron consisted of twelve elected seats who chose the Prime, but I'm guessing that things are kinda different here?"

"Yeah, for one, while I can't speak for the other Kingdoms, Vale only has four seats," Yang explained, "I can't tell you how they choose the Headmaster of Beacon, but there's an election every couple of years to rotate out the other seats. Each member of the council has certain legal powers that keep the other three in check. That way, none of them can become a king." The two of them turned for the bridge to Vale. "Alright, we're heading for the city, if you have any other questions it'll have to wait until we're not surrounded by people."

"Consider my voicebox, muted," Bumblebee replied.

* * *

Bumblebee decided that muting his voice box was the both the smartest and the most frustrating thing he could've done, considering how lively Vale was. There were humans of all shapes, sizes, and colors walking around. A few even seemed to have horns, claws, or tails.

 _I should ask Yang about that later_ , Bumblebee thought to himself as he had other realizations. For one, a lot of the streetlights appeared to be holographic, while some airships rowed through the air overhead. The flag of Vale itself seemed to depict a half-circle of leaves surrounding an X formed of two battleaxes.

The duo's first stop was a Dust station, with Yang filling Bumblebee's Motorcycle Engine with this "Combustion Dust" the G1 Dustfire apparently ran on. _Huh, it has quite a kick to it_ , Bumblebee thought, _Too bad it's not as refreshing as energon_. The next stop had been an ammunition shop named "A Shot in the Dark", which Yang spent roughly half an hour in. Their third and final stop after that was a "grocery store". By the time Yang walked out the door, it was almost noon and her bag was practically swelling.

* * *

"The downside to shopping on a motorcycle," Yang commented as soon as she and Bumblebee were back on Patch, "Nowhere to put the bag." The Autobot scout chuckled as Yang adjusted her bag.

"Maybe you should've gone with a backpack," he suggested, "Oh, by the way, I noticed something kinda weird while we were in the city."

"What's that?" Yang asked.

"Why did some of the humans have horns, tails, claws, and other extra parts?" Bumblebee asked.

"Those… Weren't humans," Yang explained, "They were Faunus, a race humanity shares Remnant with… In theory."

"What do you mean 'in theory'?" Bumblebee asked.

"A lot of people… Don't think the Faunus are people," Yang explained as delicately as she could, "You see, Faunus are a lot like humans, except for better night vision and the fact that each one has a single animal trait, be it horns, a tail, or an extra set of ears or eyes."

"Go on."

"As stupid as it is, a lot of humans think that's reason enough to treat Faunus like they actually are animals," Yang replied, "They're not, but… Well, there's this Faunus in Ruby's class who very loudly wishes she shed her reindeer antlers every winter like her dad so random strangers would stop harassing her over them."

"Oh…" Bumblebee replied, "Reminds me of how Beastformers and Mini-Cons were treated back on Cybertron." Yang raised an eyebrow.

"What and what?"

"Beastformers are what they sound like, Transformers who base their altmodes off of animals rather than machines," Bumblebee replied, "Even if most of Cybertron's wildlife are machines, it was enough for some bots to treat them like they actually are those animals, even in robot mode. And you can probably guess from my story why Mini-Cons got a rough treatment."

"I can imagine," Yang admitted.

"Yeah, now imagine if I had been Ruby's size, and that's basically what it's like to be a Mini-Con."

Yang pushed the mental image of a battered Ruby as a giant robot's servant to the back of her mind, particularly the mental image of the likely and messy end result of that robot getting physically violent with her baby sister. Even if Bumblebee could take over steering while she adjusted her bag again, it didn't mean she could take it as an excuse to slack off.

"So… You live outside of Vale?" Bumblebee asked.

"The city? Yes," Yang answered, "The Kingdom? Not really. Patch is considered a part of the Kingdom of Vale. The water around the island is too shallow for large Grimm to get there, and the island's geography means that the smaller Grimm who dwell in the forests usually have trouble getting to where the people live."

"Usually?" Bumblebee replied.

"All this 'Mantlite bomb' nonsense has people scared and nervous," Yang explained, "Emotions like fear and nervousness attracts the Grimm. So instead of a couple of Grimm navigating the island to try and find someone in a bad mood, the entire population of Patch is basically one big Grimm magnet."

"... Sorry about that," Bumblebee replied.

"It's not your fault," Yang assured, "I mean, judging by the fact that your stasis pod was underground, you had to have been here for ages."

"Yeah…" Bumblebee replied, "I wonder if any of the others are okay…"

"Hey, if you survived the fall from space, I'm pretty sure the others could too!" Yang assured.

"It's not the fall that has me worried," Bumblebee replied, "It's whatever caused us to crash in the first place."

Yang fell silent as they rode down the road.

* * *

"Okay!" Ruby said as she put up the map of Remnant on the garage wall, "Even if you get your homing beacon back, you're going to need to figure out how to get to the crash site!"

"How long have you guys had that map?" Bumblebee whispered to Yang.

Yang shrugged as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Best case scenario, the crash site is somewhere on Patch!" Ruby explained, pointing to Patch on the map, "The worst you'll have to worry about is keeping the Grimm out of your things and hiding from Winter until the Vale Council kicks her out. However, it might also have landed here!" She pointed at a tiny island in the Southeast. "The good news is that the Atlesian Military is not welcome in Menagerie. The bad news is that we'd have to find a trustworthy Faunus willing to risk the Atlesian Military's wrath to get you there, given that a human on Menagerie would raise eyebrows at best and earn the wrath of the White Fang at worst. On the plus side, I hear that Menagerie's a very beautiful place to visit, even if you'd stand out like a sore thumb." Yang raised her hand.

"Ruby, how long have you been working on this?" she asked.

"Since you left!" Ruby answered, "Oh! That reminds me, how good are you at digging?"

"... What does that have to do with what Yang asked?" Bumblebee asked.

Ruby simply crossed her arms and started tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh uh… Mediocre?" Bumblebee shrugged.

"Well then you might want to work on that, because if it's in Vacuo," she pointed at a tan spot on the Southwestern half of the continent Vale was on, "You'll probably have to dig through a ton of sand! Seriously, last time Uncle Qrow went there he was tracking sand everywhere for weeks!"

"So it's like the Sea of Rust?" Bumblebee asked.

"Maybe?" Ruby answered, "Oh! You might want to work on your heating if it landed somewhere in Solitas!" she pointed to the northernmost continent on the map. "Aside from being the coldest place in Remnant, it's also where Atlas is, and we all know that you and the Atlesian Military aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment."

"Understatement of the millennium," Bumblebee replied, "Anything I should know about the other continents?"

"Anima is basically just a warmer version of Solitas," Ruby explained as she pointed at the continent East of Vale, "Except there are a lot of villages, a lot of cities with diverse cultures, and the Atlesian Military has a bit more authority than they do here thanks to Atlas and Mistral getting along _really_ well. The White Fang also has a pretty strong presence in Southern Mistral as well, so… Yeah."

"What about that one continent that looks kinda like a winged monster?" Bumblebee asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby replied.

Bumblebee pointed at the dragon-shaped continent South of Solitas but Northwest of Sanus.

"Oh… Yeah if it landed there, you're screwed," Ruby replied very bluntly, "All I know about that place is that everyone who's tried to live there long term has never been heard from again. _Ever._ "

"So… Like a more extreme Tsiehshi?" Bumblebee asked.

"Pretty much!" Ruby replied, "Now, we should also consider the possibility that your ship might have landed in the ocean, in which case we should probably make sure you're waterproof…"

* * *

"Now then, you remember what I told you?" Taiyang asked as the sun set.

"Turn right around if we see anyone, especially Atlesian Soldiers, don't get into a fight unless we absolutely have to, we're not to follow the beacon's signal until your friend arrives, and I need to keep my helmet on while riding Bee's alt-mode," Yang answered.

"Good, and Bumblebee?" Taiyang turned to the giant robot who lived in his garage.

"If I let anything happen to your daughter you'll dismantle me with your bare hands," Bumblebee replied.

"Good," Taiyang replied, "Now, I want both of you to be careful and get out of there at the first sign of trouble. There was a Nevermore sighting earlier and nobody's reported its demise, so make sure to always have something over your heads."

"Yes Dad," Yang replied, "Relax, I have a giant alien robot backing me up, what's the worst that could happen?"

"The Nevermore could rip you right off of Bumblebee's back and fly away before he's done transforming, eating you alive in its nest," Taiyang answered.

"Like I'd let it get that close to me in the first place," Yang scoffed.

"Don't worry sir, I'll keep an optic on the sky at all times," Bumblebee promised.

"I'll hold you to that," Taiyang replied, "Now, both of you be careful, and good luck." Bumblebee shifted into motorcycle mode and let Yang hop on.

"Don't worry Dad," Yang replied, "We'll be back before you know it!"

"Don't worry Mister Xiao Long, this isn't my first rodeo," Bumblebee replied, "I have a couple millions of years of experience."

"That's good to… Wait, what?" An equally surprised Yang rode off on Bumblebee as Taiyang processed what Bumblebee just said. "A couple millions of _what_?"

* * *

"Wait, his name is literally Rusty?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, it's why the shop's called 'Witwicky Automotive', would you buy a machine from a shop named 'Rusty Automotive'?" Yang asked, still trying to process just how _old_ her alien robot motorcycle friend was.

"After I caught a bad case of the Cosmic Rust, _frag no!_ " Bumblebee replied.

"Cosmic Rust?" Yang questioned.

"Does your planet have any ailment that causes your flesh to rot and eventually fall off?" Bumblebee asked. Yang's eyes widened in horror.

"Dear God…"

"Is that a 'no' or did I accidentally strike too close to home?" Bumblebee asked.

"Don't worry about it, we're coming up on the auto shop here anyway," Yang replied, wanting to change the subject to get the mental image of her arm decaying away out of her mind. She pulled over to the side of the road and put down the kickstand. "Where did you say you put it?"

"Under a tree, in between the roots, covered by a rock," Bumblebee answered as Yang put her helmet on his handlebar, "If it won't budge, you've got the wrong rock."

"Got it!"

"Oh! And the tree was closer to the cars," Bumblebee added before Yang could take off, "I had to dash across the lot to get to where you found me."

"Got it!" Yang repeated, "Anything else?"

"Nope!"

"Then I'll be right back!"

Yang glanced around the woods, shooting occasional glances at the sky for bird-shaped abominations.

"Maybe I should've asked what side of the tree the rock was on," she remarked, "That could've saved me some ti-" she tripped over a rock. "Oh son of a- Wait a second." She pushed herself to her feet and glanced at the rock she had just tripped over. "There's no way it's _that_ easy," she muttered as she pulled the rock free from the roots. She put it aside as soon as it was out of the way, and noticed a futuristic metal disk. "Maybe it is?" she pulled it free with a grunt of effort, and flipped it over to see a screen covered with strange symbols she didn't recognize pointing to the Autobot logo she did recognize. "Huh, guess it's time to head home now."

"Excuse me," Yang whirled around to face the unfamiliar voice, trying to hide the shield-sized disk behind her back to no avail. The speaker was a girl her age with golden eyes, black hair, black and white clothes, and a black bow completing the ensemble. "May I see what you have there?"

"Sorry, I don't really have time to chat," Yang replied, her mind trying to figure out why some random (yet admittedly attractive) girl she'd never seen before would be out in the middle of the woods at this hour of the night.

"Really? Now why would you be in a hurry?" the girl pressed as she walked up to Yang, "And I can't see why one look would hurt."

"My friend needs it," Yang replied, hoping that would be enough.

"Would your friend happen to be Specialist Winter Schnee?" the girl asked, "Because I know Atlesian tech when I see it."

"Who's asking?" Yang asked. The black haired girl actually smirked in response.

"You're obviously not one of Ironwood's underlings," she replied, "Atlesian Soldiers are far cooler under pressure."

" _Hey!_ "

"But to answer your question," a dozen figures dropped out of the trees as the girl pulled a weapon from behind her, and then unsheathed what appeared to be a katana with a ribbon and a built-in pistol, "The White Fang would like to have some words with you." Yang glanced between the figures, each one clad in a white hood and Grimm mask. Eight of them wielded guns, the remaining four chains, and all twelve of them had knives strapped to their hip.

"Yang! Get down!" Bumblebee shouted. Yang ducked without a moment's hesitation as a red blade sliced through the air where her head had been a second ago.

"Adam! I had it under control!" the black-haired girl shouted.

"Then grab the bomb before she gets away," a new voice added as Yang dashed away from where she had been standing and shot a glance over her shoulder to see a red-haired bull Faunus in a Grimm mask, "And I want someone to find her lookout!"

Adam's call was answered by the revving of a motorcycle engine as he whirled around to face the noise, just in time to slash across the front of a riderless motorcycle and divert its course.

"The Hell?"

The black haired girl took that as her cue to dash forward and yank the dish from Yang's grasp while slashing across her Aura with her katana.

"Hey! Bumblebee needs that!" Yang shouted as the girl in question grabbed the ribbon of her katana and threw the blade into the treetops.

"Sorry, just following orders," the black-haired girl replied.

Yang growled and threw a punch, the girl dissolving into shadows on impact. "What the-" she glanced up at the trees, just in time to see the girl jump away. "Oh no you don't!" she threw out her arms behind her, launching two explosive rounds that kicked up a lot of dirt and propelled her into the air, only for a metal chain to wrap around her foot. "Oh grapes."

"Hang on!" Bumblebee shouted as he unfolded into robot mode, startling all of the White Fang goons present and nearly causing the girl in the trees to lose her footing in shock. Before anyone had anytime to react, a glowing, blue blade cut through the chain and Bumblebee caught Yang with his other arm. "Think you can get my homing beacon back while I handle these thugs?"

" _Hey!_ " one of the thugs shouted.

"Probably a good idea," Yang replied.

"Do you have enough Aura to survive getting thrown?"

"Of cour- wait wha-" Bumblebee threw Yang at the girl in the trees without answering her, before turning to face the thirteen thugs left behind.

"It's not too late to talk this out."

"Any friend of humanity is an enemy of the White Fang," Adam replied as he sheathed his blade and detached his blade from his hip, "I don't know what you are, but I refuse to let a _machine_ ruin my plans!"

"Buddy, I've been fighting monsters far larger for far longer than you've probably been alive," Bumblebee replied as a wasp-like mask covered his face and he traded out his Energon blades for his wrist-mounted shotguns, "But if you want to embarrass yourself, don't let me stop you."

Adam replied by pointing his sheath at Bumblebee, and pulling the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I'd have a chapter where Bumblebee learns about Remnant to balance out the chapter where the Rose/Xiao Longs learned about Cybertron. Still, not entirely happy with the final product, but it's serviceable.  
> I'm also going to be giving some behind the scenes information on my tumblr: swapauanon.tumblr.com.  
> Next time: Bumblebee and Yang have their first battle as a team.  
> Update 7/20/2020: Did some clean-up, fixed up Ruby's name, and added an extra paragraph break.


	5. Chapter 4: Close Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is a bit of a shorter chapter than I intended, but given that it's basically just one big fight scene, I'm just glad I was able to get out about four pages.  
> TW: Adam is, as always, an abusive jackass. When you get to the part about Blake getting lifted off the ground, you might want to skip ahead to the sentence "You okay?" if you can't stomach domestic violence.

[BGM ~ From Shadows](https://youtu.be/2YlcDXXw2vg)

* * *

Blake jumped to another branch as Yang flew into the branch she had been perched on a second ago, and winced as the other girl impacted the branch at a higher speed than what was probably healthy for the human body.

"I have no quarrel with you," Blake stated as she pointed _Gambol Shroud_ 's blade at the human, "Nobody has to get hurt today."

"Sorry sweetheart," Yang stated as she pulled herself onto the branch, "But I'm taking that big metal disk with me, so you can either give it to me now." She raised her fists. "Or I can take it from you."

"You'll have to catch me first," Blake replied. Yang exploded forwards, and Blake jumped to another tree and left behind a shadowy decoy to take the hit. Yang passed through it, as expected, only to immediately fire a bullet into the branch Blake was standing on. "Oh." The branch broke off the second Blake shifted her weight. She screamed as she fell from the tree, the device slipping from her grip and rolling across the forest floor. She was fortunate enough to land on her feet with catlike grace, only to notice an armored fist flying right for her face.

_Clang!_

"If you think I'm gonna let you escape with Bumblebee's homing beacon, you've got another thing coming!" Yang shouted as the explosive round her punch launched pushed Blake back.

"Homing beacon?" Blake replied as she switched _Gambol Shroud_ to pistol mode and took a shot at Yang, "What the Hell are you talking about?" Yang tanked the shot and ran at Blake as Bumblebee knocked a White Fang thug into a tree.

"Bumblebee needs that device to get home!" Yang replied as Blake knocked away a right hook with the flat side of _Gambol Shroud_ , "What do you even want with it?"

"Like I'd tell a human!" Blake shouted as she slashed at Yang with _Gambol Shroud_.

Bumblebee realized very quickly that he had underestimated the White Fang. While the hilt of Adam's blade bounced ineffectively off of his helmet, it did serve as a pretty decent distraction to Adam running right at him and catching the blade to slash at his leg. It hadn't hurt, but it did trip him up. Which of course made actually aiming at the White Fang thugs even trickier. He was able to blast one into a tree, but the others were still able to keep pretty steady gunfire, and whenever he got his footing he'd get tripped up by a chain.

"Still think you can take us?" Adam mocked as he walked right up to Bumblebee's face.

The Autobot scout growled and punched him into the tree Yang had found his homing beacon under. "Slag-brained idiot," he mumbled as he shifted into motorcycle mode and swerved around, kicking up as much dirt at the White Fang gunners as possible, and sped off in the direction that Yang had chased Adam's maskless friend. "Okay, if I can overtake them and knock over the tree the other girl was in-" he skidded to a halt and collided with the black-haired girl, knocking her off her feet as he shifted back into robot mode.

"Wow, you made quick work of them," Yang remarked, only for a bullet to whiz past her head as the black-haired girl pushed herself back to her feet.

"There it is!" one of the White Fang thugs shouted as the other gunners caught up, "Open fire!" Yang ducked behind a tree as a hailstorm of bullets filled the air she had just been standing in, with Bumblebee taking a similar cue as the black-haired girl yelped and dissolved into shadows.

"Watch where you're shooting!" she shouted from her own hiding spot.

"Sorry Blake!" one of the gunners replied.

Blake simply glared at the gunners, then spotted the homing beacon resting just a few feet away from her hiding place. She made a mad dash for it, only to fall over as her Aura solidified around her.

"I wonder if I could've made my life easier by using that on Adam," Bumblebee mused as he fired several shots in front of the gunners to kick up clouds of dirt and smoke, then dashed for the homing beacon.

Yang punched a couple of bullets at where she'd seen the gunners, then ducked between two trees to avoid the retaliatory volley

"This is not how I expected tonight to go," she admitted before jumping out from her cover to fire her own return volley.

 _Crack!_ Yang ducked at the gunshot sound and watched as a red blade soared right over her head, hilt first, and struck a tree behind her. Yang saw a red and black blur and propelled herself for the blade, her fingers closing around the hilt right as she made out Adam's Grimm mask. Without thinking, she swung the red blade at him, slashing across the criminal's Aura.

"Leave him alone!" Blake screamed as she charged Yang with her katana. Yang tried to block it, but due to having no prior experience wielding a sword, one strike from Blake was enough to loosen her grip. When Adam charged at her, Yang unthinkingly jabbed the sword at him, and right back into its scabbard. The scabbard that was also a firearm.

"Oh grapes." Adam pulled the trigger, propelling the hilt of the sword into Yang's midriff, and tearing it from her grasp in one fell swoop. Adam grabbed the hilt of his blade with a grin as Yang stumbled back.

"Oh no you don't!" Bumblebee shouted as he fired an energon blast at the bull Faunus. Adam turned to face Bumblebee and unsheathed most of his blade, catching the blast on the flat side of his katana as he was pushed back against a tree trunk.

"It's over," Adam announced as he sheathed his blade, " _FINISHED!_ " His body was enveloped in a blood-red radiance, a Hellish corona encompassing his body as he flashed his teeth in a demonic smile. He unsheathed his blade and slashed through the air in one fell swoop, and a red flash struck Bumblebee in the chest.

 _BANG!_ The flash exploded as Bumblebee's Aura flashed, the Autobot staggering back and crying out in pain as he dropped the homing beacon. A hand flew up to the scratch on his chest, a pink liquid oozing from the wound.

"Impossible! Nothing's ever survived a direct hit from Moonslice before!" Adam shouted as he pointed his scabbard at Bumblebee, "What are you?!"

"You… You made me bleed," Bumblebee remarked as he removed his hand from the injury, a pink liquid staining his palm even as his Aura got to work sealing the wound, "Looks like I'll have to change up my strategy." He swapped out his shotguns for his glowing Energon blades.

" _Kill it!_ " Adam shouted, panic bleeding into his voice as he fired several shots out of his scabbard gun. Bumblebee lunged forward, only for a chain to wrap around his neck. When he retracted his blades to reach for the chain, chains wrapped around his wrists as well. Each of the chain-wielding White Fang thugs was joined by two others.

Bumblebee let out an electronic screech as the chain around his neck tightened, pink blood leaking out of the left side of his neck. He was forced to his knees as the thugs on both sides of him pulled his arms in two different directions.

" _Bumblebee!_ " Yang shouted as she set off two explosive rounds behind herself, knocking Blake and Adam off their feet. The three remaining free White Fang thugs charged Yang with knives in their hands. Yang threw a punch at the one on the right, firing a bullet to send him flying. A left hook put the second one on the ground. She grabbed the last one's arm, ignited her hair as her eyes turned red, punched him in the gut and fired an explosive round, and let go of his arm as he flew into the three pulling on Bumblebee's left arm. They lost their grip, and Bumblebee reached for the chain around his neck. Yang dashed over them and barreled into the three tugging on the chain digging into Bumblebee's neck, punching and kicking them away from the chain. The Autobot Scout pulled the laxed chain off his neck, allowing the reopened wound on his neck to heal, and then shook the chain off his right wrist. He then deployed his Energon shotgun and turned towards the White Fang thugs restraining his right arm.

"Drop it," Bumblebee growled with a static-like rasp as the barrels of his weapon glowed. The White Fang grunts wisely decided not to test if they had enough Aura to survive a direct hit from his weapon and dropped the chain. Even backing away with nervous grins for extra measure.

"You okay?" Yang asked as her Scroll vibrated.

"I'll live," Bumblebee rasped as he rubbed his neck, before turning to face the imprint on the grass where his homing beacon had been, "What?"

"Did you really think we'd just sit there twiddling our thumbs while you were preoccupied?" Adam asked as he stepped forward, "My darling's already picked up whatever that disc is, and now you'll never find it!"

"What do you even want with it?" Yang asked, "It's no use to you!"

"I figured that out when it didn't explode," Adam admitted with a shrug, "But at this point, it's a matter of principle, besides-" he charged forward and slashed his sword at Yang, only to strike a blue Energon blade instead. "I. _Never_. Lose!"

"Never say never," Bumblebee replied as he shoved Adam back with a swing of his blade, "Now where did your 'darling' run off to?" The Autobot scout scanned the treetops. "She's heading back for the dealership!"

"Got it!" Yang propelled herself back into the trees. Adam charged, only to get cut off by an Energon blast.

"Not in the mood Ragey McGrimmface," Bumblebee taunted.

Adam replied with a scream of rage as he threw himself at the Autobot, his gunners raising their weapons to provide cover fire.

Blake leapt through the treetops, mentally cursing with every hop, skip, and jump.

 _What the Hell was that?_ Blake asked, _I don't think that was Atlesian tech, and this disk certainly isn't a bomb! You know what, forget about it, just get to the dealership, hotwire an escape vehicle, and text Adam so he knows where to meet up after shaking off that robocycle and that blond brute. Then we can contact the High Leader and find out what the fu-_ She was brought out of her internal monologue when a blond brawler collided with her back and knocked her off balance. With cat-like grace, Blake Belladonna stumbled out of the trees, hitting every branch along the way, before painfully landing on her legs. "Ow…" Yang landed between her and the dealership.

"That could've gone better," Yang wheezed as she pushed herself to her feet, "Now if you're done trying to steal something that's no use to you, can I _please_ have that back?"

"Adam wants this," Blake replied as she drew her katana by the ribbon, "And I trust that he has a plan for it!"

"Really?" Yang asked, "Because Adam literally just bragged about how he was only keeping this up to spite me and Bee!"

"LIAR!" Blake dropped the homing beacon and lashed out at Yang. The blond brawler jumped back, so Blake only achieved trimming some hair. Blake had cut her hair. Yang's opponent had DARED to cut her hair. "... Why are you shaking? I didn't even-"

"You're _DEAD!_ " Yang rocketed forward, hair blazing and eyes red.

Bumblebee was having a much easier time fighting the White Fang now that most of Adam's underlings had worn themselves out. Even if Adam had blocked a couple of his shots, Bumblebee wasn't giving him a moment's reprieve to use his Distinction.

"You ready to give up?" Bumblebee asked.

"Die," Adam spat as he raised his sword, his body consumed by a demonic glow. Bumblebee rolled his optics.

"You know I can survive that, right?" he asked.

Right as Bumblebee said that, Adam's partner flew through one tree and bounced off a second as her Aura flashed.

"DON'T MESS WITH MY HAIR!" Yang shrieked as she went flying towards the downed fighter. Adam smirked.

"Can _she_?" he slashed his sword through the air in Yang's direction. Before Adam's sword was even halfway through its arc, Bumblebee launched himself towards Yang and wrapped himself around her to tank the red light.

_BANG!_

* * *

Blake groaned as the world stopped spinning, then shrieked as she was yanked off her feet by her black vest.

"Where's the device?" Adam growled as he twisted the fabric in his hand.

"I- I dropped it on my way to the dealership!" Blake explained, "The human had gotten in my way and I had to-"

" _I don't want your excuses!_ " Adam shrieked as he threw Blake back into the tree with all his strength, "I want that device!"

"You okay?" Bumblebee asked as smoke rose and pink liquid oozed from the gash on his back, his Projected Spark Field slowly healing the wound.

"Y-yeah," Yang answered, somewhat shaken by the sudden impact, "What-"

"Adam tried to use his Distinction on you while you were distracted," Bumblebee explained as he set Yang down, "Can you walk?"

"I'm a little dizzy, but yeah," Yang answered, "Bumblebee! I left your homing beacon over-" she was interrupted by Adam's roar of rage as the masked monster threw himself at Bumblebee with his sword raised in the air. Bumblebee simply stopped the assault by grabbing Adam's arm and squeezing, before holding his fist to the man's chest.

" _I'll kill you!_ " Adam spat.

"You know, if I deployed my Energon blade right now, you'd probably die in seconds," Bumblebee stated, and Adam stopped struggling as he realized the position he was in, "However-" Bumblebee let go of Adam's arm and fired an Energon blast into his chest, sending him into the trunk of a tree. "I don't have time to scrape you off my blade."

"Adam!" Blake forced herself to her feet to dash over to her leader along with the other White Fang thugs.

"Where did you say my homing beacon was?" Bumblebee asked Yang.

"Don't let them escape!" Adam shouted.

"You know what?" Bumblebee said as he scooped up Yang in his arms ("Hey!"), "Why don't you just point me that way?" Yang pointed in the direction of the dealership, and Bumblebee took off running while firing a few blasts to trip up their pursuers.

"You can turn into a motorcycle!" Yang shouted.

"You aren't wearing a helmet!" Bumblebee argued.

"Really?"

" _I'm not about to risk your father's wrath over this!_ "

* * *

As soon as Bumblebee and Yang had picked up the homing beacon, the scout made a mad dash for the side of the road where he'd dropped Yang's helmet and put her down, firing Energon blasts at the White Fang to keep them from getting too close.

"Hurry and put on your helmet!" Bumblebee shouted. Yang rolled her eyes as she strapped on the helmet.

"Oh golly! It's a good thing I'm wearing this helmet!" she stated, "It's not like I can armor my body with my soul or anything!" Bumblebee pushed the homing beacon into Yang's arms and transformed into vehicle mode.

"Stop snarking and hop on!" Yang rolled her eyes as she mounted the talking motorcycle. The duo took off into the road, ready to leave their pursuers in the dust, only to get caught in the headlights of a red SUV.

"Going somewhere, B-127?" the vehicle asked as it slammed into the motorcycle at top speed. Yang's and Bumblebee's Auras both flashed as they stumbled across the road, the homing beacon rolling a few feet away. The SUV then unfolded into a tall, bipedal robot that easily dwarfed Bumblebee.

"Shatter!" Bumblebee shouted as he transformed back into robot mode, "What are you doing here?"

"You are intruding on the property of the Decepticon Empire, traitor!" Shatter answered, before turning to face the gobsmacked Faunus in the woods, "Dropkick, kill the witnesses." A blue and black armored car swerved to a stop and unfolded into a second bipedal machine.

"Finally!" he stated as his right arm shifted into a canon, "I was wondering when I'd get to have some fun!" The White Fang members tried to flee, but the first blast was an electric charge that popped a few like grotesque water balloons. Then came a blast infused with Freeze Dust which froze all but Blake and Adam solid. Those unlucky souls were then shattered by the Gravity Dust infused blast, and a Fire Dust infused blast set the evidence ablaze. Bumblebee leapt at Shatter as he activated his "Stinger", only for Shatter's arm to shift to an Energon pistol and blast him in the chest, causing both his PSF and his Stinger to fizzle out as he painfully hit the ground.

"And there goes your Projected Spark Field," Shatter taunted as she shifted her pistol out for an Energon blade, which she then pressed against the underside of the Autobot's chin, "Looks like you're out of luck."

Yang groaned in pain as she tried to push herself to her feet.

"Well would you look at that," Dropkick remarked as he trained his cannon on the human, "Looks like B-127 found himself a new pet."

"Kill it," Shatter ordered, "Then fetch me the homing beacon."

"No…" Bumblebee rasped out as Dropkick vented Gravity Dust into his Energon cannon.

"I just love how you organics pop," the Decepticon remarked, only to notice a black and red figure dashing for the homing beacon, "Hang on, looks like I missed one." He fired his cannon at the figure.

"Don't shoot the homing beacon you imbecile!" Shatter shouted, a second too late.

* * *

Blake felt her heart sink as the horrible, metallic _things_ slaughtered her brothers and sisters in arms. She wasn't particularly close to any of them (Adam had insisted that she trust him and _only_ him), but she knew each of their names. And that blue demon had gleefully butchered them without the slightest hint of remorse. Adam had been seething the entire retreat, ( _He's grieving in his own way_ , she had convinced herself), only to watch in disbelief as he broke cover to dash for the device they had just been fighting over a few minutes ago.

" _Adam_ ," she hissed, " _What the Hell are you doing?_ "

"I'm not leaving without my prize!" Adam snapped back as he picked up the disc. Whatever response Blake had died in her throat when the ground between Adam and the killer machines erupted into broken asphalt, the shockwave shaving leaves from nearby branches and sending Adam flying through the air. His Aura flashed when the explosion went off, and flickered out the second he hit the ground.

"ADAM!" Blake broke cover to rush to his side, pressing two fingers to the side of his neck to feel for a pulse. _Thank the gods, he's alive!_

_Ka-click._

_BOOM!_

Blake turned to the source of the sound and saw the robot's human accomplice rushing towards them, and the mechanical butcher that had slaughtered her allies stomping after her. Without thinking, Blake poured all of her strength into her Semblance, spiriting Adam and the device away into the shadows, and letting the human latch on to a hollow decoy. Blake fled into the woods, clinging to Adam's barely conscious body, which in turn clung to the device like a lifeline. As for the human...

"No!" Yang shouted as Blake, Adam, and the homing beacon dissolved into shadows, completely unaware of the metal fist bearing down on her.

_CRACK!_

The asphalt beneath Yang shattered as Dropkick's fist punched her into the ground, her Aura flickering out as he pulled his fist back.

"Typical squishy," Dropkick taunted as he readied another punch, "If you don't pop, you go splat!"

"Hold it Dropkick!" Shatter shouted. Dropkick's fist stopped mere inches from Yang's body.

"Oh what now!"

"B-127 had to have checked his homing beacon before we got here, and I learned long ago that he's not one to break under torture," Shatter replied, "Let's keep his pet human alive. For now."

"Oh, I see…" Dropkick chuckled as he grabbed Yang and lifted her up to eye level, her arms pinned to her side by his metal fingers. Yang's red eyes met his hellish glare.

"So, B-127," Shatter began as she pressed the blade against Bumblebee's neck, "Where is the Ark?"

"I don't know," Bumblebee answered, "I didn't have time to check."

"I see," Shatter replied, "Dropkick."

Yang cried out as the blue Decepticon slightly increased the pressure.

"How about now?" Shatter asked.

"I'm telling the truth, I don't know!" Bumblebee insisted.

Dropkick increased the pressure again.

"The more you lie, the more she suffers," Shatter replied.

"She has nothing to do with this!" Bumblebee objected.

"I… Disagree," Shatter refuted as she lifted his chin, "Now, where. Is. The Ark?"

"I don't know!" Bumblebee replied once again, "Please, she's a civilian!"

"Is that so?" Shatter asked, "Dropkick!"

"What?" the other Decepticon asked as Yang struggled to push herself free.

"Tear off one of its arms," Shatter ordered, and Yang froze, "Clearly, B-127 isn't taking this seriously."

"Oh, this is way more fun than popping it," Dropkick chuckled as he tossed his captive into the air. Yang tried to throw a punch to use an explosive round to propel herself away, only for Dropkick to grab her right arm between his left hand's pointer and thumb. She tried to propel an explosive round into Dropkick's optic, and his right hand closed around her body.

"Be sure to do it slowly, now," Shatter ordered, "The longer it screams, the more his guilt will pile on until he has no choice _but_ to admit the truth."

"You had me at 'The longer it screams,'" Dropkick replied as he began to pull. Yang tried to bite down her screams, but Combat School didn't really prepare her for torture. Especially as she felt her arm slowly stretching, every last nerve in the arm crying out in agony. The sheer sadistic glee her tormentor took in her suffering only heightened the fear and panic as she screamed. As such, it probably shouldn't have been surprising when a black shape descended from the sky like an abominable bird of prey. Dropkick yelped and released Yang's arm as the Nevermore latched onto his own and began nipping at his hostage. "Stupid bird!" Dropkick punched the Grimm off his arm, causing it to identify the giant robot as the bigger threat and latch onto his face. "Oh sweet merciful Primus, not again!" he shrieked as he threw Yang into a tree, "I can't die like this!" His right arm shifted back into a canon and fired randomly into the air.

"Dropkick, you're not going to land any hits on the Nevermore like that!" Shatter shouted, before turning to face Bumblebee, "Ngh, I'll just use the Cortical Psychic Pa-" One of Dropkick's rogue blasts hit her dead center, freeing Bumblebee from her blade and allowing him to transform into vehicle mode and ride into the trees.

"Yang! It's time to call a retreat!" he shouted before disappearing.

* * *

Shatter growled and pointed her Energon pistol into the woods, only for another Energon blast to strike her in the shoulder.

"PRIMUSDAMMIT DROPKICK!" She shouted as she jabbed an Energon blade into the Nevermore's back, pried it off of her partner, slammed it into the ground, and fired multiple shots at the Grimm until it dissolved.

"Oh good, I'm way too handsome to die like that," Dropkick said as his Projected Spark Field got to work repairing the dents and scratches on his face. Shatter slowly turned to face her partner as the sound of sirens grew louder, no, _closer_.

"Our window of opportunity has closed," Shatter sighed as she retracted her weapons, "We need to fall back and form a new plan." She transformed into an Atlesian Dropship and flew away.

"Ugh, fine," Dropkick fussed as he transformed into a Bullhead and flew after her.

* * *

Yang could hear her heart beating in her ear as Bumblebee drove her home.

"You okay, Yang?" Bumblebee asked.

"Peachy," Yang squeaked, her right arm still burning from what had almost happened and the rest of her body aching from what _did_ happen. A pair of headlights rounded a corner and Yang felt her heart _stop_ , even as the car skidded to a halt. Bumblebee swerved and was about to speed off in the other direction when the headlights turned off and the driver side door opened.

"Yang?" a familiar voice called.

"DAD!" Yang leapt off Bumblebee and dashed over to her father to pull him into a hug.

"Yang, what's wrong?" Taiyang asked.

"They're here," Yang replied, "The Decepticons are _here_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shatter and Dropkick weren't originally going to be a part of this chapter, but I realized this would be the PERFECT way to set up how big of a threat they are. In fact, the entire reason Taiyang mentioned the Nevermore last chapter was to set up it's appearance here. Bumblebee shielding Yang with his body and then shooting Adam was one of the first ideas I had for this chapter, as was Blake cutting Yang's hair.


	6. Chapter 5: A Father's Worst Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than I was expecting, but here we are.  
> Not sure how I feel about it, but I hope you enjoy!

Taiyang tinkered with the AC, tightening a few bolts in a desperate attempt to lock in the Dust cylinders.

"Come on, come on..." He grunted as he tried to turn the wrench, the sound of the doorbell echoing through the house.

"Dad! There's someone at the door!" Ruby shouted.

"You're the one who's closer!" Taiyang shot back, right as the bolt locked into place. "FINALLY!"

Ruby grumbled as she put down her comic book and marched over to the door, not wanting to lose her place in the comic. Said comic was completely forgotten when she saw who was at the door.

"I take it you're Taiyang's daughter," Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon, remarked, "May I speak with your father?"

"... You're Professor Ozpin…" Ruby remarked.

"And you have silver eyes," Ozpin replied.

"If you two are done stating the obvious," a blond woman remarked, "We didn't come here for idle conversation."

"Ruby, who is that at the- Oh," Taiyang chuckled as he walked into the room and noticed who was at the door, "I probably should've expected this reaction."

"Can I have your autograph?" Ruby asked.

"Please, come in," Taiyang welcomed as he pulled Ruby away from the doorway, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"We're in the middle of a precarious situation, Taiyang," Professor Glynda Goodwitch opened as Ruby sipped her hot chocolate awkwardly, eyeing the two most important Huntsmen in the Kingdom just sitting on her couch, "I hope you didn't bring us here just to waste our time."

"Don't worry, I didn't," Taiyang assured her as he took a seat and pocketed his Scroll, "It's just that my elder daughter kinda has to be here for the explanation and she's currently running an errand."

"Is she…" Ozpin trailed off, realizing that Taiyang would kill him if he accidentally pulled Ruby into their shadow war.

"No," Taiyang answered, "I wouldn't let her out of my sight without at least three bodygaurds if she was."

"If she was, what?" Ruby asked.

"I pray that you never have to find out," Taiyang answered, "I just sent Yang a message. As soon as she gets here, I can explain everything!"

"She hasn't even read the message," Taiyang remarked, some time later.

"Teenagers do tend to be rebellious," Glynda observed.

"Oh no, if Yang was deliberately trying to cause trouble, she would've left me on 'read'," Taiyang replied, "The fact that she hasn't even looked at it has me worried."

"Do you think the Nevermore…" Ruby started.

"Ruby, keep our guests entertained," Taiyang interrupted as he rose to his feet, "I'm taking the car to where Yang was supposed to go and to look for her." He stormed off to the garage. _I swear, if that alien got Yang hurt…_

* * *

Taiyang Xiao Long wasn't sure what to make of Bumblebee. So far, the Autobot hadn't given Taiyang any reason to distrust him, he wouldn't have let Yang go with him if he believed him to mean her harm, but even disregarding the Decepticons, Bumblebee had made a powerful enemy in the Atlesian Military.

 _Then again, I guess I've also made a few_ , Taiyang thought bitterly, recalling his first encounter with one of _her_ agents. He drove down the road, praying that Yang was alright when he noticed the billowing pillar of smoke in the sky. His mind wandered back to the day he first held Ruby in his arms, and how his heart sank when he first saw her eyes. The eyes that painted a target on her back and ensured that Ruby would never know peace as long as _she_ lived. The eyes that sealed Summer's fate. He would never forget the mix of pride and terror that filled his heart when Ruby told him she wanted to be a Huntress.

Taiyang pushed those thoughts back. He was driving, it was dark out, and he needed to keep his eyes on the road. In fact, that was his turn coming up. He rounded the corner, and hit the brakes the second Zippy's headlights illuminated a yellow shape. The car skidded to a halt as the familiar-yet-battered motorcycle and its rider swerved. Taiyang unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the driver side door as he noticed Bumblebee wasn't stopping.

"Yang?" he called.

"DAD!" Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't for Yang to throw herself at him and pull him into a near-bonecrushing hug. That… Something had to have gone wrong.

"Yang, what's wrong?" Taiyang asked.

"They're here," Yang started, voice shaking, "The Decepticons are _here_!"

"What?!"

Taiyang felt his blood run cold as Yang spilled out how everything had gone south. From what he could make out, they had been ambushed by _someone_ shortly after finding the homing beacon, lost the homing beacon, and then the Decepticons arrived and tortured Yang. His 17-year-old daughter had been tortured. His _daughter_ had been _tortured_. Those _savages_ had tortured his sunny little dragon.

"Thank God that Nevermore showed up when it did," Yang continued ( _A Grimm attack should_ never _be a good thing_ , Taiyang thought, even if he agreed with Yang's sentiment), "If it hadn't…" Taiyang felt Yang step away from the hug as she gripped her right arm. Her entire body was bruised, her clothes were torn and burned, she was covered with some kind of pink substance, her helmet was cracked, and there were several breaks in the skin on Yang's right arm around her elbow and shoulder. His eyes turned to the currently silent alien disguised as a normal motorcycle, his blood boiling.

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked.

"Dad?" Yang shot a confused look at her father as Bumblebee shifted back into robot mode, revealing the dents on his body, and the burn mark on his chest.

"I tried to keep the enemy focused on me before the Decepticons showed up," he explained as he rubbed his neck.

"And when the Decepticons did show up?" Taiyang pressed, anger leaking into his voice.

"My Projected Spark Field had taken a lot of damage," Bumblebee opened, "I tried to use my Distinction on Shatter, but she was able to break through with one shot…" His hand went up to the burn mark on his chest. "After that, she pinned me down, and I wasn't able to protect Yang from Dropkick."

"... So I take it all of that 'two million years of combat experience' was just pointless bravado then?" Taiyang continued, "You said you wouldn't let anything happen to her! And yet a freaking _Nevermore_ did more to protect her than you did!"

"Dad, that's enough!" Yang interrupted, "This isn't Bumblebee's fault!"

"How is this not his fault?!" Taiyang shouted back, "The Decepticons are _his_ enemies! You got hurt trying to receive _his_ homing beacon! And let's not forget that the only reason we're in this mess is because _his_ friends had to crash land on _our_ planet! _How is he not responsible for this?!_ "

"He didn't ask to crash here!" Yang shot back with a swing of her arm, wincing from the pain, "And if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know that the Decepticons are a threat!"

"How do you know that he's not the reason the Decepticons are here in the first place?" Taiyang asked, "For all we know, they could've been tracking his ship!"

"Given that they didn't know where the Ark was-" the argument was cut short by a snarling sound. A Beowolf lunged from the treeline, only for Bumblebee's Energon saber to slice through it, and a howl followed by rustling leaves indicated its pack's retreat.

"You'd better run…" Bumblebee growled.

"They'd only flee like that if there was an Alpha controlling them," Taiyang remarked, "That's… Not good." He turned to his daughter. "Yang, get in the car. We need to explain the situation to my friend." Yang glanced apprehensively at Zippy.

"Bumblebee needs a rider," Yang replied, "In case we pass anyone on the way back."  
"Scrap, I completely forgot about that!" Bumblebee admitted, before folding back into vehicle mode. It was at that moment that Taiyang noticed that the same pink substance that was staining Yang's front was also covering Bumblebee's seat in a diagonal splash.

"What's with the pink paint?" Taiyang asked.

"That's his blood," Yang answered, "It started pouring out of him after he tanked a hit meant for me." Taiyang winced as Yang mounted the motorcycle and turned to drive in the direction of the house.

"... Good going Tai… Scold the guy who saved your daughter's life," he mumbled to himself as he made his way to Zippy, closed the driver-side door, and buckled up, "Summer would be _real_ proud of you if she could see you now." Memories of his greatest shame nagged at the back of his mind as he followed behind Yang, careful to keep her in his headlights as they headed home.

* * *

_Taiyang tried to block out whoever was knocking on the door as he flipped through the pages of the photo album, looking for every picture of Summer's smiling face, anything to block out the reality_

_**BANG! BANG! BANG!** _

" _Taiyang I swear to the Brothers! If you don't open this damn door this second I'll tear it from its hinges and smash it over your thick skull!" Qrow shouted. Taiyang groaned as he pushed himself from his spot on the table and shambled to the door._

" _Qrow, can you please watch your language, I have chil-" Taiyang froze as he opened the door to see that Qrow was holding Ruby, her Silver Eyes filled with confusion, and Yang was clinging to his pant leg with a terrified look on her face. "What are you two doing outside?"_

_That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say._

" _ **YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THEY WERE GONE?!"**_

_It had taken some time, but Ruby and Yang had both been sat down in Ruby's room (Yang had been reluctant to leave her sister's side), while Qrow sat Taiyang down and let him have it. Yang had gone and tried to track down Raven, taken Ruby with her, and both of them would've been torn apart by Beowolves if Qrow hadn't happened to be flying in for a visit when Yang wandered off._

" _Why would she-"_

" _Because she thinks bringing a Mom back will fix everything," Qrow interrupted, "Because she noticed a Summer shaped hole in your lives and thought Raven could fill it. Because she's just a kid who lost her Mom and doesn't know how to handle it!"_

" _I… I didn't realize-"_

" _Didn't realize what?" Qrow interrupted, "That Firecracker misses her too? That she has feelings outside of smiles and tantrums?!"_

" _That's not what I meant," Taiyang insisted._

" _That's what it sounded like!" Qrow snapped back, "What was so important that you didn't notice that your own daughters weren't even in the house anymore?"_

_Taiyang's eyes drifted over the still-open scrapbook._

" _So that's it then…" Qrow noted as he picked up the scrapbook, slamming it shut, "If this is putting my nieces in danger, then maybe I should burn it."_

" _NO!" Taiyang shouted as he yanked the album from Qrow's hands, "Please, this is all I have left of her!"_

" _What about Ruby?" Qrow asked._

_Taiyang fell silent._

" _If you don't clean up your act, I might not be here the next time one of those girls has a hairbrained scheme," Qrow continued, "Then those pictures will be all that'll be left of them as well."_

* * *

"- and that's when I suggested that Akai could reinforce her fans so they could work as batons when folded!" Ruby finished.

"As… Fascinating as that all is, we didn't come here for personal anecdotes," Professor Goodwitch remarked.

"Indeed, while I trust Taiyang when he said this was important, I don't have time to stick around all night," Ozpin replied, "So how much longer do you think he's going to-" the sound of an approaching car grew louder.

"They're back!" Ruby dispersed into petals and dashed to the garage. Professor Goodwitch sighed.

"Just like her mother," she muttered.

"Summer was one of our best…" Ozpin pointed out.

"It doesn't change the years she shaved off my life."

"Hi Yang! How was- _OH MY GOSH ARE YOU OKAY?!_ " Ozpin and Glynda froze.

"I'll live," Yang replied as she dismounted her motorcycle, her Aura already getting to work healing her scrapes and bruises.

Ruby pulled her sister into a hug.

Yang hissed in pain.

"Excuse me," Ozpin interjected as he walked into the garage, "But I do believe we were called here for a reason."

"... You're Professor Ozpin," Yang remarked.

"And your family has a habit of stating the obvious," Professor Goodwitch remarked as she followed after him, "What happened to you anyway?"

"I discovered that the Grimm are far from the scariest things in the universe," Yang answered, her voice somewhat shaky. Zippy's headlights turned off as Taiyang stepped out of the car.

"Ozpin! I'm glad to see you're still here!" Taiyang greeted, a pink stain on his shirt, "Sorry about this, but we've kinda had a crazy couple of days."

"I assure you Taiyang, when you've been around as long as I have, nothing surprises you anymore," Ozpin replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Taiyang asked.

"Dad, what is Professor Ozpin doing in our house?" Yang asked.

"Oh! He's the friend I mentioned to you three last night," Taiyang answered.

"Three?" Professor Goodwitch questioned, "Taiyang, what are you talking about?"

"You can trust them," Taiyang replied. Goodwitch's next question died in her throat as Yang's motorcycle loosened up and shifted, unfolding into a bipedal robot.

"Ow!"

Who hit his head on the ceiling.

"Ozpin, Glynda, say hello to Bumblebee," Taiyang introduced.

"Nice to meet you!" Bumblebee said to the two speechless humans.

"... Well…" Ozpin opened, "... That's a first…"

"I'm going to change into something that isn't covered in Bumblebee's blood," Taiyang announced, "Yang should clean up, Bee, why don't you explain this whole alien war fiasco."

"Wait… this pink stuff is Bumblebee's _blood_?" Ruby remarked as she looked over her corset, pink liquid seeping into the fabric from when she had hugged Yang.

What followed that awkward introduction was Bumblebee sharing his story while Taiyang and Ruby went to their respective rooms to change out of their blood-stained shirts while Yang showered. By the time he got to Trannis, Ruby and Taiyang had returned. By the time Yang returned from her shower, he was wrapping up his story. While Bumblebee didn't know that much about humans, he did know that all lifeforms, be they technological, organic, or technorganic, typically dried themselves after cleaning themselves with water. But Yang's hair was still wet when she returned to the garage, even as she hugged Zwei to her chest. And had her optics always been blue? He could ask later, he had a story to finish.

"- So, since I needed to get to the Ark's crash site to refuel before my Spark burns out, I decided to go get my homing beacon," Bumblebee continued, "Yang tagged along because a riderless motorcycle would apparently stand out like a frayed actuator. That's when we ran into the Decepticons."

"So the Decepticons brutalized you enough for Ms. Xiao Long to be covered in your blood?" Ozpin questioned.

"Actually the bleeding was because this red-headed White Fang member hit him with his Semblance," Yang answered, "His name was Adam, had a really fancy Grimm mask so I'm guessing he was important."

" _YOU GOT INTO A FIGHT WITH ADAM TAURUS?!_ " Taiyang shouted.

"She's definitely _your_ daughter," Professor Goodwitch groaned, "And I can already tell that she's going to be a handful next year…"

"That aside, what can you tell us about your Decepticon assailants?" Ozpin asked.

"Dropkick's mostly blue, has both a car mode and a Bullhead mode," Yang answered almost immediately, "Didn't get a good look at his car mode, but he's got red, Grimm-like eyes in robot mode, and couldn't shut up about how much fun he was having when he…"

Taiyang pulled his daughter into a hug when her voice hitched.

"Shatter and Dropkick are Decepticon Security Officers," Bumblebee explained, "If they're here, then the Decepticon's Infiltration Protocol is probably well underway, and there's no telling how much military hardware, public transport, or emergency vehicles they've replaced while I was in stasis." He shook his head. "But as for the Decepticons I'm aware of, Shatter's an interrogator, while Dropkick's job is pretty much to execute prisoners once they've outlived their usefulness, and torture the ones who are being uncooperative. I unfortunately didn't get a good look at Shatter's flight-mode-"

"She turned into a red Atlesian Dropship," Yang cut-in, "I saw her transform while trying to climb out of the tree Dropkick threw me into after he got attacked by a Nevermore."

For some reason, THAT was what got Ozpin to spit out the hot chocolate he was sipping.

"I'm sorry, what?" Ozpin replied.

"The weird thing is that the Nevermore basically ignored him until Dropkick punched it," Yang remarked, "Why would it do that?"

"Oh, now it makes sense," Ozpin remarked.

"What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked, "Last I checked, aren't those Grimm things supposed to try and attack everything?"

"Perhaps, but they typically only go after humans and Faunus, and our creations," Ozpin explained.

"Legend has it that it's because they're spawned by Remnant itself to punish us for our sins," Ruby remarked.

"There's also the legend of the Two Brothers," Glynda commented, "Which states that they only go after humanity because the darker of the two gods created the Grimm to destroy the creations of his brother." Bumblebee froze.

"... Which brother is the elder of the two?" he asked, "Because if the elder brother is a Chaos Bringer who tore the Light Bringer into five parts…"

"Light is older than Dark," Ozpin explained, "A-According to legend at least."

"... Huh…" Bumblebee commented, "That's… Hrm…"

"Bumblebee?" Yang questioned, her eyes returning to lilac.

"I just thought that I had stumbled upon an answer to a question that's been nagging at my processor for awhile now," Bumblebee replied.

"That aside, have any Grimm harassed you in particular since you woke up?" Ozpin asked, "Excepting the ones produced by Winter's Semblance."

"Not… Really…" Bumblebee answered, "Not unless I attacked first…"

"Hmm…" Ozpin remarked.

"But Dropkick's reaction to the Nevermore attack implies that they've been attacking the Decepticons," Yang replied.

"Perhaps they simply prioritize humans and Faunus, and will only go after aliens when there aren't any locals around," Ozpin suggested, "Regardless, the White Fang has your homing beacon?"

"Yeah, and the Decepticons can easily take it from them," Bumblebee answered, "You can probably guess why that's far from ideal for anyone involved, including the White Fang. "

"I'll see if I can't talk some sense into Ironwood," Ozpin replied, "Even if he's impulsive, I believe his heart's in the right place."

"Wait, the leader of the largest standing army on the planet is impulsive?" Bumblebee remarked, "How are none of your Kingdoms at war?"

"He brings his wrath down on enemies of the Kingdoms," Professor Goodwitch answered, "Even if I wish he'd listen when asked to use strategies outside of overwhelming force…"

"... You're joking," Bumblebee decided, " _Please_ tell me you're joking!"

"Bee," Taiyang cut in, "We haven't had a real war since the Faunus Rights Revolution."

"... Solomus give me patience," Bumblebee prayed with a groan and a facepalm, "This… This is going to end badly if we don't get Prime back online…"

"Now I should be going," Ozpin remarked, "Now that the White Fang has what Winter was guarding, they'll probably shift their focus to the SDC's shipments. Speaking of, while I must insist that you don't go looking for trouble, in the event that Ironwood fails to see reason…"

"The Atlesian Military knows me as 'B-127', and Winter might recognize the name 'Bumblebee'," Bumblebee interrupted, "If you're going to talk about me with Ironwood, use my old name. I don't want Yang getting hurt on my behalf." Ozpin smiled warmly.

"Don't worry, I'll keep that in mind," he promised, "But before I go, you should know that she's called 'Specialist' Schnee for a reason."

"And that is?" Bumblebee asked.

"I'm afraid I have work to do, you should rest up for tonight," Ozpin replied, "Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going."

"You'll, you'll stay in touch, right?" Bumblebee asked.

"Glynda, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow," Ozpin replied.

"Ah yes, the operation that doesn't involve genocidal robots from another planet," Professor Goodwitch replied as she followed after her boss, "I can't believe that business is going to be _less_ stressful by comparison."

"Is he always like this?" Bumblebee asked as the two teachers walked out of the still-open garage door.

"The answer should become obvious after you've slept," Taiyang answered, "Speaking of, we should probably all be headed that way, you especially Yang."

"Yeah…" Yang replied as she walked into the house, taking Zwei with her, "... Goodnight…"

"Oh! Dad fixed up the A/C, so you shouldn't have to worry about overheating anymore!" Ruby stated.

"Uh... Thanks Mr. Xiaolong" Bumblebee started, "But I've camped out in extreme temperatures before. In fact, I think I can handle more extreme temperatures than you all can. But this should at least make my stay more comfortable.

"Okay, goodnight Bumblebee!" Ruby announced before dashing out of the garage and into the house.

"... So uh… About earlier…" Taiyang opened as the garage door closed.

"I did technically break my promise," Bumblebee interrupted.

"Not through any fault of your own," Taiyang replied, "And you _did_ save Yang's life when the White Fang attacked."

"Adam only attacked her to spite me," Bumblebee argued.

"Adam Taurus would've attacked her for being human even if you _weren't_ part of the equation," Taiyang insisted, "Also… You still have a little blood on your… Erm…"

"We can wash it off in the morning," Bumblebee replied, "Maybe reapply my paintjob too…"

"So… Uh… One last thing," Taiyang said, "We'll still have a fighting chance if the Decepticons decide to screw stealth and go for the attack, right?"

"I'll be honest," Bumblebee sighed, "If the Decepticons find the Ark before we do, your species will be extinct by the end of the week."

"Oh…" Taiyang replied.

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen," Bumblebee promised with a reassuring grin, "We've stopped the Decepticons plenty of times in the past, and we'll do it again."

"... Okay," Taiyang replied, "I can live with that. Goodnight Bumblebee." He turned to leave. "... And… Thank you…"

"Goodnight sir," Bumblebee replied as he transformed back into motorcycle mode. The lights flicked off, and Bumblebee sighed. "If only our defeats didn't outnumber our victories."

* * *

Yang wrapped herself in her blankets, trying to block out the image of those demonic eyes as she tried to drift off to sleep.

_Her arms and legs refused to move as her window opened, and a metallic hand reached in. She tried to call for help, but all that came out was a strangled gasp as the metallic fingers closed around her. She was slowly pulled from her bed and out the window as her body refused to obey her brain and struggle. She was soon face to face with the glowing, red eyes she'd never forget._

" _Did you think I couldn't find you? Squishy!" Dropkick taunted, "You still owe me an arm!" Yang was suddenly laying on a table as Dropkick's hand unfolded into all kinds of instruments, some of them were binding her wrists and ankles, while the rest were various drills and blades. "This won't take long." One of the bladed instruments, a buzzsaw, inched closer, closer, and closer to where Yang's right arm met her shoulder. Yang tried to get her body to move, but it refused to budge. She tried to scream, but all that came out of her mouth was a quiet exhale. She couldn't even tear her eyes away from the buzzsaw inching ever closer to her arm._

Taiyang bolted awake when he heard the shriek. He threw the door open just in time to watch a cloud of rose petals blitz down the hall towards Yang's room. By the time he got to Yang's room, her bed was empty, the curtains to her window were closed, and the normally fearless brawler was curled up in the corner of her room and was halfway between sobbing and hyperventilating as Ruby sat next to her.

"Bad dream?" he guessed.

"I'm fine," Yang lied.

"Yang, it's okay to be-"

" _I SAID I'M FINE!_ " Yang shouted, eyes red and hair ablaze. Taiyang and Ruby both flinched from the sudden increase in volume, and Yang glanced nervously at the window as her flames died down. Ruby followed her sister's gaze, and Taiyang could see the gears turning in his younger daughter's head as she formulated an idea.

"Mind if I spend the night in here?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, all this Decepticon talk has me worried," Ruby explained, "And whenever I was little, I always felt safer when I was with you!"

"Heh," Yang laughed, "You know I won't always be here to protect you Rubes."

"But someday, the two of us will be unstoppable together!" Ruby insisted, "Besides, when was the last time we had a sleepover?"

 _She's not looking for Yang's protection_ , Taiyang realized, _She's looking to help chase her sister's nightmares away_.

"I… Alright Rubes…"

"Perfect!" Ruby squealed, "I'll go get Zwei!" She dispersed into a cloud of petals and dashed away.

"Seriously Yang, are you okay?" Taiyang asked.

"I have to be," Yang replied, "For her."

"You're still a kid," Taiyang insisted.

"... Not for much longer I won't be," Yang remarked dryly, "I don't want her to grow up as quickly as I had to." Ruby chose that moment to return with Zwei in her arms, cutting their discussion short.

"This has been an eventful day, but I'm ready to turn in," she dropped into the bed, letting go of Zwei so he could make his way to the foot of the bed, "Goodnight Dad! Goodnight Yang!"

Yang wordlessly pushed herself off the floor and walked over to her bed, flopping down on it next to her sister.

"Goodnight girls," Taiyang sighed as he made his way back to his room, _I'm sorry for letting you down_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, that ending was supposed to be cute and heartwarming, but then Yang's trauma and Taiyang's feelings of helplessness surfaced.  
> Update 1/6/2021: Removed the precision f-strike from this chapter because a better opportunity arose in a later chapter. And also made a minor grammatical fix to the brief Beowolf encounter.


	7. Chapter 6: And the Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I wrote a prequel to this story. It's titled "Like Judas Thereupon Kissed" and covers some of the events Bumblebee brushed over back in "World of Cybertron". Feel free to check it out.
> 
> TW: Adam is, as always, an abusive scumbag.

Amber clung to her horse's reins like her life depended on it as the trees blurred past her. She glanced over her shoulder, and the piercing red eyes of her shadowy pursuers chilled her to the bone.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted, golden flames jutting from her eyes as a blast of wind sent the Grimm flying. She turned her attention on the road ahead, her powers flaring and ripping leaves from the trees she passed, until she saw two Ursai blocking her path. A jolt of terror shot down her spine even as a bolt of lightning vaporized one of them. She pulled on the reins to try and turn around as the remaining Ursa charged, only for a crow to fly right past her head and transform into a man who proceeded to stab the Ursa through the chest.

"Keep going!" the former bird shouted, "The village militia can handle the Beowolves!"

"Oh! Right…" Amber chuckled nervously as she cracked the reins, and her horse galloped right past her escort, the Beowolves she had forgotten chasing after her, "Sorry! Forgot about them!"

"... I'm too sober for this," Qrow groaned as he shifted back into bird form and flew after the Fall Maiden, the Beowolves snapping at his tail feathers.

* * *

"And that's why I told you not to pick fights with packs of Grimm," Qrow remarked as soon as he and Amber were in their inn room, "I can handle any Grimm that tries to sneak up on you, but if you try to take on the whole pack, there's not a lot I can do for you!"

"I thought I could use my powers on them!" Amber protested.

"Is that why you panicked when you saw the rest of the pack?" Qrow asked.

"Erm…"

"All the power in the world won't help you if you don't know how to use it," Qrow continued, "Remember, all it took was one slip up for your predecessor to kick the bucket! Do you want to end up like her?"

"N-No!" Amber answered.

"Then _be more careful!_ " Qrow shouted, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to give the town one more sweep. Try to get some sleep, we've got a long day tomorrow!" He shifted back into bird form and flew out the window. _I hope things are going more smoothly on Oz's end…_

* * *

_Maybe the Transformers were created by the Brother of Light?_

_No, he'd never allow them to become a spacefaring race if he was. He chose to smite the first people who tried for "abandoning the land gifted to them"._

_Then perhaps it's because they took the form of machines created by human and Faunus hands?_

_That… Would actually explain it. Perhaps we should press Bumblebee on the brother gods of his religion. It might shine a light on this… Unique situation._

_I can only hope that whatever other gods might exist in the cosmos will be more benign than the Brothers._

_Indeed, otherwise… Our situation is far bleaker than we imagined…_

_As it stands, there is the issue of what to say to the others._

_That's an issue for tomorrow, after a night of rest. This isn't news to be delivered while on a sleep-deprived and weary mind._

* * *

The following morning, Ozpin sat at his desk, hooking his scroll up to the holographic monitor projector. The sun hadn't even risen yet, so he wasn't surprised when Theodore looked about ready to strangle him when the other three headmasters' faces appeared on the screen.

"Oz… You'd better have a good reason for getting me up at this ungodly hour," Theodore growled.

"It's… Erm… Perfectly fine here in Mistral," Leonardo replied, the light of the sun shining through the window behind him, "If not a little late…"

"I was originally only going to speak with the General," Ozpin opened, "But I'm afraid that this is a matter that concerns all four of us."

"Oz please, we're friends," Ironwood insisted, "To you, it's James."

"Are we friends, General?" Ozpin asked, "Because I'd like to know why you weren't the one I learned about B-127 from." Ironwood froze.

"B-127?" Theodore questioned.

"I told Winter to keep her mouth shut," Ironwood growled.

"So… B-127 wasn't lying about his encounter with Winter," Ozpin remarked, "And I'd think you'd have more trust in your second in command, _James_." Ironwood wilted in his seat.

"Listen to me Oz, B-127 is dangerous," the General started, "He's part of a rebellion against his people's government, there's no telling what sinister plans he might hold for Rem-"

"And yet he saw fit to warn me about a potential threat to my Kingdom while you tried to keep me unaware, General!" Ozpin interrupted.

"Hang on, what exactly are you two talking about?" Theodore asked as Leonardo nervously glanced over his shoulder.

"B-127 is an autonomous robotic lifeform from another world," Ozpin explained, "He has Aura, and last night, he alerted me to the enemy he and his fellow 'Autobots' are fighting."

"What are you talking about?" Ironwood asked as Lionheart glanced nervously at Ozpin's position on his screen.

"The Decepticon Empire," Ozpin explained, "Just last night, two agents of this empire attacked B-127, disguised as Atlesian military hardware. B-127 believes that the Decepticons have infiltrated public transportation, emergency services, and the military."

"How?" Theodore asked.

"Simple, B-127's species are called 'Transformers' and as the name implies, they are capable of transforming from a humanoid robot mode, to an alternate mode based on different machines," Ozpin explained, "The 'Mantlite Bomb' Ironwood deployed Specialist Schnee's division to disarm was actually B-127, and his homing beacon was stolen by the White Fang while he was fighting the Decepticons."

"... I see…" Ironwood remarked.

"Hang on, homing beacon?" Theodore asked.

"It's the device that lets him track down his ship," Ironwood replied, "Now, are the White Fang working with these Decepticons?"

"Unlikely, considering that one of the Decepticons slaughtered most of the group present," Ozpin remarked.

"And the Autobots?"

"Considering that B-127 was fighting the White Fang when the Decepticons attacked, I consider that possibility laughable," Ozpin answered.

"So… In summary, Ironwood botched Remnant's first contact with an alien species, we're being invaded, and the only reason we know this is because B-127 found a way to contact you?" Theodore asked.

"That's the gist of it," Ozpin answered.

"Have you brought this to the Vale Council's attention?" Ironwood asked.

"I think I'll wait until Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, is awake," Ozpin explained, "I'm going to need to provide evidence of the existence of shapeshifting alien robots without causing a panic, after all."

"It's certainly hard to believe," Theodore replied, "I probably wouldn't have believed it if James hadn't verified your claims by mistake. I mean, a robot with aura? Come on!"

"It… Sure is…" Ironwood chuckled nervously.

"There's also the issue of avoiding a diplomatic disaster between Atlas and Vale," Ozpin continued, "The Vale Council will not be pleased if it gets out that you tried to hide this from us, James."

"Erm… Yes, it would be…" Ironwood replied, "How exactly did B-127 contact you?" Ozpin took a sip of hot chocolate.

"I'm afraid that's strictly 'need-to-know' James," he answered, "And until I'm sure I can trust you, you don't need to know. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Ironwood replied as he wilted.

"What about Autumn?" Leonardo asked.

"I have my best Huntsman escorting her," Ozpin replied.

"Does he know about the Decepticons?" Leonardo pressed.

"No," Ozpin answered, "I highly doubt that they're aware of _her_ existence, nor the existence of the four. Otherwise, they would've already demolished our Academies. Keeping him ignorant of their existence is the best way to ensure his and Autumn's safety."

"I see…" Leonardo replied.

"Is that all?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, that was all I wished to bring to your attention," Ozpin answered, "Keep your eyes peeled, try to root out which vehicles have been replaced, but do so discreetly. If the Decepticons resort to open warfare, the Grimm will prioritize killing our kind over theirs. Is that clear?"

"Of course Oz!"

"Crystal!"

"I'll make note of it…"

"In that case, meeting adjourned."

* * *

Lionheart let out a sigh of relief as the transmission ended.

"This… Could be a problem," he remarked as he rose from his seat, and made his way to a secret door in the back of his office. He opened the door and crossed the threshold into the secret room, coming face to face with the crystalline, jellyfish-like Grimm housed within. "My Queen, are you there?"

"Lionheart, have you gotten any further information on the Fall Maiden's location?" _her_ voice echoed from the Seer.

"Unfortunately not, just that she's on her way to Beacon," Lionheart answered, "But I have some bad news."

"Oh?"

"Ozpin knows about the Decepticons!"

"... This is… Inconvenient…" _she_ remarked as soon as Lionheart had finished passing along what he had learned from Ozpin, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I'll make sure Cinder knows not to bring her chauffeur to the White Fang encampment, we want their fear and loyalty, not their anger and hatred, after all…"

* * *

As soon as Adam let her out of bed, Blake got dressed for the day, placed three items into a small bag, and set out to complete her task. She tried and failed to block out the wolf-whistles, even as her whole body ached and she struggled to keep focused on the task she _should_ have completed before attending to more… "Domestic" concerns. Soon, she was out of the camp, and made her way down to the creek. Carefully, she set her bag down, unfurling it to reveal the candlestick, lighter, and makeshift boat she had just managed to finish the previous night before…

Blake shuddered, and placed the candle in the boat, before activating the lighter and bringing it to the wick. As soon as the wick was burning, Blake set the boat in the water, and watched as the current carried the candle downstream.

 _I hope that one light is enough for the twelve souls we lost_ , she thought to herself as she extinguished and pocketed the lighter, before returning to camp. _Adam seemed so… Distracted,_ Blake reflected, _I get that he can be passionate, but he's never attacked me in the middle of an operation before…_ She shook her head as she crossed through the gate in their makeshift walls. _And he seemed to care more about getting that device than the lives we lost, it's almost like he didn't care…_ Whatever conclusion Blake was about to come to when she saw the tears pouring down Adam's face from under his mask upon reentering the camp. _Or maybe he's just grieving in his own way…_

_It's not fair!_ Adam thought, _My Semblance should've reduced that machine to_ _ **scrap!**_ _If it hadn't interfered, I would've been able to take that human's head as a trophy!_ _It's not fair! It's not fair!_ _**It's not fair!**_ _**IT'S NOT FAIR!**_

"Sir!" Adam's Lieutenant announced, startling him out of his seething, "The High Leader wishes to speak with you and Blake."

"Tell her we'll be there shortly," Adam replied, " _Belladonna!_ "

High Leader Sienna Khan was an imposing figure, and the holographic screen did little to diminish that. People lived and died on her word, and she was very aware of that.

"How may we be of service, High Leader?" Adam asked as he and Blake knelt before the holographic image.

" _I was hoping for a status report,"_ Sienna Khan answered, before her golden eyes skimmed the top of Blake's head, " _Blake, why are you hiding your ears?"_

"Adam found them distracting," Blake answered as Adam flinched, "I didn't want to hurt his performance on the field, High Leader."

" _Blake, you're like family to me, to you, it's just Sienna,"_ Sienna replied,

"Of… Of course…"

" _And stand up! It's unbecoming for the chieftain's daughter to kneel to anyone."_

"Of… Of course," Blake replied as she stood. Adam grit his teeth, barely containing the urge to snarl in envy as he kept kneeling.

" _Now, how is the situation in Vale?"_ Sienna asked, " _I hope the Atlesian Military hasn't been giving you trouble?"_

"No, they haven't," Adam replied, "Even when a third party stole a part of the 'Mantlite Bomb' we were able to sneak into Patch to retrieve the stolen piece."

" _You_ _ **WHAT?!**_ " Sienna shouted, making Adam flinch, " _Have you lost your mind? If news gets out that we have even a_ _ **piece**_ _of a Mantlite Bomb, the Four Kingdoms will stop at_ _ **nothing**_ _to eradicate us! General Ironwood has been itching for an excuse to 'civilize' Menagerie ever since he was promoted, and if he finds out you have that piece he'll take it as an excuse to bring the full wrath of the Atlesian Air Fleet down on Kuo Kuanna!"_ The High Leader pinched the bridge of her nose. " _Sabotaging the bomb so that it won't detonate is one thing, but actually taking it? That's starting a war we can't hope to win!"_

"If it went off in Atlas, we could've crippled their military!" Adam protested.

" _And the survivors across the globe would be united by their hatred of us to wipe Faunuskind off the face of Remnant!"_ Sienna snapped, " _We want humanity to_ _ **fear**_ _us Adam, not unite against Faunus kind!"_

"It's a moot point anyway," Blake cut in, "Because whatever we stole, wasn't part of a bomb."

" _Oh, really?"_ Sienna Khan remarked, " _So not only did Adam risk starting a war, but he couldn't even be bothered to steal a bomb correctly?"_

"It's not his fault!" Blake insisted, "The Atlesian Military were specifically trying to cover-up something else."

" _And that is?"_ Sienna Khan asked.

"A living robot that can turn into a motorcycle," Blake answered.

Sienna fell silent.

"She's not going to believe you without proof, Bla-"

" _They can turn into vehicles too?!"_ Adam and Blake both stood a little straighter.

"I'm sorry… What?" Blake cut in.

" _Tell me everything about the operation,"_ Sienna Khan ordered.

" _I… I see…"_ Sienna Khan remarked as soon as Adam and Blake were done recounting the previous night's disastrous mission, " _Adam, carry on with planned operations, but only if you can avoid direct conflict with the Atlesian Military, and let me know immediately if you encounter any more of these robots in disguise."_ Her gaze hardened into a glare. " _I need to know if Razorclaw lied to me…"_

"Razorclaw?" Blake questioned.

" _And Adam,"_ Sienna continued, her voice cold, " _You and I will be having words about your conduct as soon as this mess is sorted out, understood?"_

"Yes… High Leader…" Adam replied.

" _And Blake."_

"Hmm?"

" _Take care of yourself,"_ Sienna concluded, " _That will be all."_ The holographic screen fizzled out.

"Oh _darling_ …"

"Yes Adam?" Blake asked as she turned to face him.

_**SMACK!** _

"What were you _thinking?!_ " Adam shouted as Blake rubbed her cheek, "Are you _trying_ to get me in trouble with the High Leader?"

"N-No, I just thought that-"

"That what? The woman who can't commit to the path she's set us on wouldn't get cold feet at the idea of actually _finishing_ this war?" Adam asked, "Face it darling, we're _already_ at war with humanity, and the longer it takes the High Leader to realize that, the harder winning will be!" He stormed out of the tent, leaving Blake to wonder why the giant robots didn't scare her as much as her boyfriend's bad moods did.

* * *

"Why did Starscream want to meet us out here?" Dropkick asked as he and Shatter soared over the ruins of Mountain Glenn, "Just because those blasted Grimm actually like him doesn't mean we don't still have to fend them off!"

"Oh quit your complaining and keep an optic open for Merlot Tower," Shatter replied, "We haven't encountered any flying Grimm yet and I'd rather _not_ have a repeat of the Lancer incident."

Dropkick grumbled, but otherwise remained silent as they soared over the Grimm infested ruins.

Finding Starscream didn't take long, not when he was in robot mode and standing on top of Merlot Tower as two Nevermores circled overhead.

"Let's get this over with," Shatter remarked as she and Dropkick flew up to the top of the tower and shifted into robot mode, landing on the roof across from Starscream, "How can we help you, Air Commander Starscream?"

"You could start by explaining why you weren't the ones I learned about B-127's presence from," Starscream replied.

"... W-What?" Shatter remarked, "I assure you Starscream, we have it completely under control!"

"Then why is it that the White Fang have his homing beacon, while we still have no idea where the Ark is?" Starscream asked.

"Wait, that's where his Beacon disappeared to?" Dropkick remarked as he shifted his right arm into an Energon Canon, "Perfect, now all we have to do is locate their camp and pop everyone there to-"

"You will do no such thing!" Starscream interrupted, "I have plans for the White Fang, and the Predacons are trying to forge an alliance with their High Leader."

"Why should we care about what those animals want?" Dropkick asked, "We can handle Razorclaw's band of savages easily."

"Razorclaw's 'band of savages' commands the only military that could possibly pose a threat to our hold on the galaxy, especially now that our forces are spread so thin!" Starscream shouted, "Aside from that, your ill-advised attempt at capturing B-127 has alerted the Academies' head teachers have been alerted to our existence, to our infiltration! And one of those head teachers is also the head of the Atlesian Military!" Starscream snapped his fingers, and the two Nevermores dove down to perch on either side of him. "If Ironwood uncovers Tidal Wave, all of our efforts will have been for nothing!"

"We have the firepower to topple this world, easily," Shatter insisted.

"Strength alone will not bring victory!" Starscream shouted as the Nevermores fixed their glares on the Triple Changers, "Yes, we could overwhelm them through numbers alone, but with how thinly our forces are spread, we'd have to give up dozens of worlds just to pull that off! We need to be subtle until we've replaced enough military hardware!"

"Oh come on, how hard can popping a few humans be?" Dropkick asked.

"Every time the Autobots have defeated us, it was because they got the native life forms to put aside their differences and unite against us," Starscream answered, "Aside from that, Optimus' return could inspire rebellions across the galaxy! Do you want the Maximals to gain the upperhand?"

Dropkick scoffed.

"Very well then, what do you propose we do instead?" Shatter asked.

"When allied together, they do pose a threat to us," Starscream remarked, "But divide them with doubt, that will all wash away…"

"Erm…"

"Just some advice I got from a friend," Starscream replied, "Now, while Megatron is away, I am the highest ranking officer on this planet, so listen close, and listen well…" Starscream stepped forward, walked between Shatter and Dropkick, and folded his hands behind his back. "You are not to pursue the White Fang for B-127's homing beacon, I want you to track him down, capture him alive, interrogate him, and _exterminate_ him."

"But he didn't even fold when we tortured his human pet," Dropkick replied. Starscream snarled, and threw a cord at Dropkick's feet.

"Then just use that!" he snapped.

"I'd been meaning to retrieve the Cortical Psychic Patch…" Shatter remarked.

"Now, if that's all, I have a… Personal project to attend to," Starscream remarked before jumping off the roof of Merlot Tower. His body shifted and folded into an Atlesian Manta before flying off into the distance, the two Nevermores taking to the skies to flank him.

"How does he make them listen?" Dropkick asked as he put the Cortical Psychic Patch away.

"Nevermind that," Shatter replied, "Let's see if Patch's communication channels have any useful information…"

* * *

Winter sat down at her desk in the old hangar the Atlesian Military was using as a base while operating out of Vale, her airship parked outside, the headline from the morning news still fresh in her mind.

_**Fire on Patch, did the Mantlite Bomb Detonate?** _

The article went into detail about how shattered and melted White Fang masks had been found in the ashes when the fire department extinguished the flames, with a number of people questioning the Atlesian Military's competence and/or compliance.

 _Idiots_ , Winter thought with a scowl, _If a Mantlite bomb had been detonated, fire would've been the least of their worries_ … Her musing was interrupted when her Scroll vibrated in her pocket. Winter groaned as she took out and opened her Scroll.

" _Specialist Schnee,"_ General Ironwood opened.

"What do you need, sir?" Winter asked.

" _I have good news and bad news,"_ Ironwood explained, " _The bad news is that Ozpin has been compromised."_

"Sir?"

" _B-127 has contacted him, and Ozpin, in his naivety, took everything the fugitive said at face value,"_ Ironwood explained, " _Additionally, the government that these Autobot renegades are rebelling against have come looking for him, which is where the good news comes in."_

"I'm not sure I understand," Winter replied.

" _The Decepticon Empire has sent agents to apprehend B-127, and got into a firefight with the White Fang in the process,"_ Ironwood explained, " _I need you to contact these 'Decepticons' and establish that we have a common enemy in B-127,_ _ **before**_ _Ozpin needlessly antagonizes them!"_

"Uh… Sir, are you sure we can trust these 'Decepticons'?" she asked, "From the sounds of thing, they're name is only a letter or two away from 'Deception'?"

" _... Specialist Schnee,"_ Ironwood opened, his voice cold and stern, " _Are you questioning my judgement?"_

"N-No sir!" Winter quickly replied, "I would never!"

" _Then act like a good little soldier and obey your orders!"_ Ironwood reiterated, " _I'll try to see what I can do to discredit Ozpin and have him replaced with someone more reasonable. Try to do what you can to stall for time."_

"Of, of course sir," Winter replied, her voice shaking.

" _Is something wrong, Specialist?"_

"Do we… Have the authority to do this?" Winter asked.

" _We've been over this before, Winter,"_ Ironwood replied, " _The other Kingdoms are like children, and it's our job to protect them from themselves. That is the Atlesian Burden."_

"Yes sir, I remember," Winter replied, "Is there anything else?"

" _No, that will be all for now,"_ Ironwood answered, " _Good luck, Specialist Schnee."_ He hung up, and Winter lowered her Scroll with a sigh.

"This mission just got a lot more complicated."

* * *

[BGM ~ Hero](https://youtu.be/4oUwrcbj_Cw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... That scene with Qrow and Amber wasn't originally planned, but it felt like a natural starting point. The chapter title is just the one I decided on, it had the working titles of "The Atlesian Burden", "Welcome to the Darkside", "Take my Hand", "Rogues Gallery Role Call", before I realized that Qrow's and Oz's scenes kept it from being a Villain Episode. Heck, before Taiyang got Ozpin involved, this was going to be a completely different chapter, titled "Mad Love" and focused entirely on Adam and Blake. As for Adam's sobbing? It's a reference to something he actually does in the DC Comics, I kid you not.


	8. Chapter 7: You Are Not Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20 PAGES! This is by FAR the longest chapter I've ever posted!  
> Just a head's up, I have in fact updated "A Simple Spark", "A Father's Worst Nightmare", and "And the Rest" this past Friday. The edits have resulted in the story being set in August instead of the dead of winter to better match up with Yang's canonical birthdate of July 28th.  
> And now, for the update you've been waiting for.

"Well, that's convenient," Dropkick remarked as he and Shatter soared over Mountain Glenn, "I uh… Have to admit, I was not expecting that. Welp! Never look a gift Alt Mode under the hood, I always say!"

"Hold it, Dropkick!" Shatter insisted, "We need to be careful. If we show up at her doorstep literally right as she received that order, it might look suspicious. Let's keep our auditory receptors tuned in to Patch's communications for now, we may learn something useful…"

* * *

"So, you know the way to the next village?" Qrow asked as he and Amber made their way out of the village.

"Erm, yes," Amber answered.

"Good, then I'll go clear out the Grimm for you," Qrow replied, "Try not to pick a fight with a Goliath while I'm gone."

"Oh please, everyone knows how to avoid Goliaths," Amber replied.

"Including you?" Qrow asked.

"I wouldn't have survived three separate Nuckelavee attacks if I didn't know how to avoid powerful Grimm!" Amber insisted.

"..." Qrow turned into a bird and flew away.

"... Oh like you _haven't_ run into weird Grimm and lived!" Amber shouted after him.

* * *

Ruby was wide awake the second the sun shone through Yang's curtains. The silver-eyed girl was ready to leap from bed to pour herself a bowl of cereal for breakfast-

"... Hmmph…" Only for her still-sleeping sister's arms to tighten their hold on her.

 _Oh! Right, Yang's not a morning person_ , Ruby remembered, _And she's also scary strong_. She tried to wriggle out of her sister's embrace, only for Yang to hold on even harder. _Oh forget it!_ Ruby decided, _I can do my best teddy bear impression for a few more minutes!_

Yang's eyes slid open half an hour later.

"Huh, Ruby, what are you…" She then recalled how her father and sister had both checked in on her after she had woken up screaming from…

"You know, figured I'd sleep more soundly if I had you watching my back, and you'd sleep more soundly if you knew I was okay," Ruby replied, distracting Yang from her memories of Dropkick.

"Oh yeah, right…" Yang pulled her sister close and looked like she was about to drift back to sleep.

"So what do you want to do today?" Ruby asked, not wanting to wait another half hour.

"..."

"Yang?"

"I don't know," Yang answered.

"Well, we still gotta clean the pink stuff off of Bumblebee," Ruby remarked, "And Dad's probably gonna want to work with the militia to clear out the Grimm."

"Hmm…"

"Oh! Maybe I could introduce Bumblebee to your favorite song!"

Yang's eyes shot open.

"I mean, sure it's a _little_ cheesy, but considering that you named him after it…"

"Don't. You. _Dare_ ," Yang growled.

Ruby giggled and dashed out of the room in a cloud of petals.

"Get back here, _you little brat!_ " Yang shouted as she leapt out of bed and chased after her sister.

Taiyang was roused from his slumber by the sound of his daughters' sisterly spat, and an incessant ringing from Ruby's bedroom..

"At least some things are still normal around here," he remarked as he pushed himself into a sitting position, "If they're awake, they're probably hungry as well."

_Thud!_

"Girls!" Taiyang shouted as he poked his head out of the room, just in time to see that Yang had enveloped her sister in a bear-hug from behind and knocked both of them into the floor, "Please, save that energy for either your chores or sparring." The ringing became much more noticeable. "And where the heck is that coming from."

" _I knew I was forgetting something!_ " Ruby shouted as she pushed Yang away and vanished into her room in a cloud of petals.

The ringing stopped as soon as Ruby hit the "snooze" button.

"... What is with my memory lately?" she mumbled as she stepped out of her room.

* * *

After all three of them had eaten, and changed for the day, Yang made her way to the garage to help Bumblebee with something.

"... Are you sure that we shouldn't have done this last night?" she asked as she scrubbed at the pink parts of the motorcycle's saddle with a damp, warm rag.

"You were already tired from… Quite literally everything that had happened," Bumblebee replied, "I would've handled this myself, but I can't reach that part of my back in robot mode."

As soon as the last of the pink was gone, Bumblebee shifted into robot mode.

"How obvious is it that I was in a battle?" he asked. Yang looked him over.

"You look fine," she remarked, "There's a small scratch where Adam's Semblance hit you, but it looks like your Aura took the brunt of Shatter's attack last night."

"That's a relief," Bumblebee sighed.

"How's your neck, by the way?" Yang asked.

"Huh?"

"Your neck started bleeding when that chain wrapped around it, right about here," she pointed at the left side of her own neck, "Do we need to patch anything up?" Bumblebee quirked up a metal plate that resembled an eyebrow.

"When would you have gotten the required medical training?" he asked.

"I mean… I made _Ember Celica_ myself," Yang replied, "And I've helped dad out with fixing up Zippy."

"I'm a bit different from a car," Bumblebee remarked.

"Maybe, but there's probably some overlap that could come in handy in a pinch," Yang replied, "I'm not asking to become your surgeon, I just figured I could help with first aid if you ever take a beating before we get you back to the Ark."

"That… Could actually come in handy," Bumblebee admitted, "But I don't think you should worry about my neck, the chain just aggravated an old wound is all."

"Old wound?"

"Yeah… You don't get your voice box ripped out without gaining a scar from it," Bumblebee elaborated, massaging the left side of his neck as he spoke, "It's mostly faded, but Ratchet and Fix-It had to reopen the wound when they installed the voice box that was donated to me."

"Donated?" Yang replied.

"What? Did you think we can just build new organs out of scrap metal?" Bumblebee asked.

"Erm… Yes?" Yang admitted, "What about your voice box's donor?" Bumblebee's face fell.

"Remember what I said? About how we sometimes incorporate pieces of our deceased into ourselves?" he asked.

"Oh…" realization dawned on Yang's face, "I'm sorry, I…"

"Don't be, it was long before you were even born," Bumblebee interrupted, "Mortilus tends to him now…"

"Mortilus?" Yang questioned.

"Huh? Oh!" Bumblebee's antenna perked up, "That's right, you wouldn't know about the Guiding Hand!"

"The guiding what now?" Yang asked.

"The Guiding Hand," Bumblebee repeated "You might want to sit down, it's a long story." Yang pulled up a stool

"Legend has it that before Cybertron existed, there existed two primordial gods," Bumblebee started, "One who wanted nothing more than to create new worlds, and his elder brother, the Chaos Bringer, who hated his brother and destroyed every world he tried to create.

"One day, the Chaos Bringer decided that enough was enough, and after discovering his brother attempting to create yet another world, attacked him instead of the half-formed world. The struggle was brief, and the younger god was violently torn into five pieces, which were then scattered across the surface of the incomplete world. In a moment of twisted sentimentality, the Chaos Bringer decided to leave the half-formed world be, as a monument to his brother's failure.

"Except the younger brother did not die, as each of those five pieces held a bit of his essence, and were able to survive on their own. They became Primus, the light-bringer and life-giver; Mortilus of the departed; Solumus, wisdom incarnate; Epistemus, knowledge personified; and Adaptus, blessed with infinite shapes. Undeterred by their change in number, the five gods got to work completing the world they had been working on. And this time, they were prepared when their elder brother came back to finish the job.

"The five of them worked together to disperse his physical form. Mortilus then restrained his consciousness, and dragged him into the After Spark. Once they were certain that the newborn world would be safe, the remaining four brothers got to work filling it with life. Once the wilderness was finished, Primus merged his essence with the world, becoming the life giving All Spark that slept in its core, the life energy that it radiated forming into Spark Crystals.

"Before falling into his slumber, however, Primus worked with his brothers to create one more life form. Primus gave this new being life, Adaptus gave him form, while Epistemus and Solumus granted it knowledge and wisdom respectively. Primon was born, and Adaptus, Epistemus, and Solumus took to the stars, urging him to explore the world gifted to him, expand his horizons, and Transform. Mortilus, meanwhile, waited in the After Spark, preparing a place for Primon and his descendants to rest when their lives would eventually come to an end."

"Wait, haven't you mentioned Primon before?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, he created Prima," Bumblebee answered, "We know he was the first Transformer. He was born at the end of Cybertron's Prehistoric Age, and lived through the entire Tribal Age, but died before the Golden Age."

"And the Guiding Hand?" Yang asked.

"Many historians believe that they were either made up by Primon, or alien life forms that he mistook for gods," Bumblebee explained, "As such, a lot of them believe that Mortilus simply succumbed to his wounds after the Guiding Hand battled the 'Chaos Bringer'. But most religious circles worship at least one member of the Guiding Hand, typically Primus, if they don't worship all five."

"What about you?" Yang asked.

"... I believe in Primus, at the very least, and I hope that Mortilus exists," he answered, "Although I can't say that was true before Cybertron died, oddly enough, considering that was the point when most of the more religious types decided that Primus simply couldn't exist."

"Understandable," Yang remarked as she imagined how the more religious types would react if the Kingdoms fell.

"YANG! BUMBLEBEE!" Ruby shouted as she burst into the room, startling both Yang out of her chair and causing Bumblebee to flinch, "We _might_ have a problem!"

"Did Dropkick find us?" Yang asked.

"What? No," Ruby replied, "I just realized that finding the homing beacon _might_ not be enough to get to the Ark."

"What do you mean?" Bumblebee asked.

"How exactly does your homing beacon work?" Ruby asked.

"Oh that's easy, it locks onto the signal emitted by Teletraan-1, points me in that direction, and tells me how much farther I have to travel unti- and I just realized the issue," Bumblebee replied.

"So… It's less of a roadmap and more of a compass?" Yang asked.

"The system works with the assumption we'll have charted the planet from orbit first," Bumblebee explained.

"So… What are we supposed to do now?" Yang asked.

"I did a little digging into the G1-Dustfire's bells and whistles!" Ruby replied, "Turns out, you can connect your Scroll to its dashboard to connect it to the CCTS."

"... Okay… How does that help?" Bumblebee asked.

"Easy, there's a 'Kingdom Nav' App that gives you a map of Remnant using the positions of the four CCT Towers. As long as all four Towers are online, and you're within range of the network, you can instantly see where on Remnant you are!" Ruby explained, "You can just use that app, cross-reference with the signal the homing beacon tracks, and you should be good!"

"That… Might actually work!" Bumblebee remarked as he folded into vehicle mode "Do you have that app installed, Yang?"

"Erm, give me a second," Yang replied as she opened up her Scroll, "Huh, looks like I had it installed back before I had my heart set on Beacon."

"Sis! Your indecisiveness may have saved the world!" Ruby shouted gleefully.

"... Really feeling the love, Rubes," Yang deadpanned as she walked over to Bumblebee, "Now, where do I insert my Scroll?"

"Don't ask me, I wasn't even aware that I _had_ this until Ruby mentioned it!" Bumblebee replied.

"Wait, didn't you have to alter your body to turn into a G1-Dustfire?" Yang asked.

"It was automated!"

"So? Aren't the blueprints still stored inside your brain?"

"No! The schematics were stored in my t-cog!"

"The heck is that?"

"... My big sister is arguing with her motorcycle," Ruby remarked, "... This… This is gonna take a while to get used to."

"I think I found a problem with this plan," Bumblebee remarked as soon as Yang disconnected her Scroll.

"What kind of problem?" Yang asked.

"While our spoken languages are practically identical, for some reason, our written languages aren't," Bumblebee explained.

"So?" Ruby asked, "Don't you have a universal translator, or something?"

"That's not how linguistics works!" Bumblebee insisted, "Regardless, I've copied the app from Yang's Scroll, now I just need to translate the code into something I can actually read!" Yang took that as her cue to hop off the motorcycle as he transformed.

"I've got it!" Ruby remarked, "What if we started by spelling out a word in both Vytalese and whatever your language is, and then worked from there?"

"That's… Actually not a bad idea," Bumblebee replied, "Alright, so how are we going to do this?"

"-And you can just use this marker to write on the White Board," Ruby finished explaining as she uncapped the marker and handed it to Bumblebee, "Just… Please don't break it!"

"I've handled fragile materials before," Bumblebee replied, "Alright, now hopefully after this I'll be able to leave my old serial number behind…"

"You're going to have to let the Autobots know about your name change," Yang reminded him.

"... Darnit, I forgot about that," Bumblebee replied, "Anyway, it should be easy: Watch." He pushed the tip of the marker against the white board, "B." He scribbled a symbol neither Yang nor Ruby recognized. "127." He scribbled out a series of what Yang and Ruby assumed were numerical symbols, before handing the marker to Yang. "Now, how would you spell it?"

"... Okay so, first there's a 'B'," Yang wrote a capital "B" under the corresponding symbol on the board, "And… Those are numbers, right?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied, "That's 127 written in Iaconian Cybertronix."

"Okay, figured I'd ask," Yang replied as she made a dash after the B, "Well, here's what '127' looks like in Vacuan numerals." She wrote "127" on the board.

"Wait, I thought your language was called Vytalese?" Bumblebee questioned.

"Yes, but pretty much EVERYONE uses Vacuan numerals," Yang replied, "The whole '0 to 9' thing is really convenient."

"Oh that I can understand, the Minicons did something similar," Bumblebee replied.

"So uh, hey! Maybe we should let Bumblebee know how to spell his own name!" Ruby cut in.

"Oh! Good idea!" Yang replied as she brought the marker to the board, "B-u-m-b-l-e-b-e-e."

"... You wrote the 'B' differently the second time around," Bumblebee observed.

"That's because it wasn't at the start of a proper noun," Yang replied.

"Huh?"

"'Proper nouns' are words that are used to identify a specific person, place, or object," Ruby replied, "Though, we also capitalize the 'D' in Dust to differentiate it from the 'dust' that clings to stuff when you forget to clean."

"Erm… Okay, but that's not the only weird thing I noticed," Bumblebee replied.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Give me the marker, and I'll show you," Bumblebee replied. Yang complied, and Bumblebee took to spelling out his own name as he sketched out alien symbols on the board. "B-U-M-B-L-E-B-E-E. All of your Vytalese characters so far have had the same name as the Iaconian Cybertronix corresponding to them."

"So?"

"That's not normal!" Bumblebee replied, "I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or if your ancestors woke up a member of my crew while developing Vytalese, but languages on different worlds don't usually develop like this! Especially with direct counterparts like this!"

"I mean, depending on how long the Decepticons have been here, they might have been able to manipulate our culture from behind the scenes," Ruby remarked.

"... I think they'd skip to straight up genocide if they arrived THAT far in your past," Bumblebee replied.

"Oh yeah…"

"Not to mention the whole idea of an ancient conspiracy ruling the world from the shadows just seems kinda… Impossible," Yang added.

" _ **ACHOO!"**_ Taiyang's sneeze echoed through the whole house.

"Bless you!" Yang and Ruby both chimed in.

"Look," Bumblebee cut in as he handed Yang the marker, "Why don't you just show me your alphabet, then I can show you mine, and we can compare notes."

"Sounds like a good idea," Yang remarked, "Let's see…"

"Wow…" Yang remarked as Bumblebee finished off the Iaconian Cybertronix alphabet, "Literally the only differences are the shapes of the letters."

"Is the order the same on Cybertron? Ruby asked.

"It was," Bumblebee answered.

"Still think my ancient conspiracy theory is far-fetched?" Ruby asked.

"That's not relevant right now," Bumblebee cut in as he scanned the white board, "Okay, now I have a cipher, all I need is a sample of your numerical system, maybe some punctuation, and I should be able to read the code for the app."

"Okay!" Ruby said as she took back the marker.

The doorbell rang.

"We can handle that later!" Yang remarked as Ruby picked up the whiteboard eraser and wiped away everything on the board.

"Yeah… Try not to act like a demon bike this time!" Ruby remarked as she capped off the marker.

"Relax I can… Demon bike?" Bumblebee asked.

"We thought you were haunted!"

" _You_ thought he was haunted," Yang corrected.

"Not the time!" Ruby replied as Bumblebee wordlessly folded into a G1-Dustfire.

"So… Uh… Just let me know when it's safe to change back," he requested.

* * *

"Celadon, Midori," Taiyang greeted, "I wasn't expecting visitors today."

"I promise you, this won't take long," Celadon replied. Celadon was a large, dark-skinned man, primarily clad in green, his hair a somewhat mossy color. Reindeer antlers curved out of the top of his head, pointing forwards like pronged hooks.

"May we come in?" Midori asked, "We just have a simple request to make." Midori was a dark-skinned woman, primarily clad in green like her husband, if not slightly more armored around the shoulders. Also, unlike her husband, she wore an eye-patch over where her right eye used to be, and the jagged Beowolf claw marks on that side of her face left little to the imagination as to why.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kagayaki?" Ruby remarked as she walked into the living room with Yang, "What are you doing here? Is Akai okay?"

"I'm fine!" a youthful voice called out from behind the two adults, "Hello Ruby!" A girl roughly Ruby's age poked her head in from between the two adults, antlers very much like her father's stuck out of her head, although unlike her parents, her outfit was mostly red.

"Well…" Midori remarked.

"Oh! Right," Taiyang remarked as he opened the door all the way it could, "Please, make yourselves at home!"

"Whatever it is you want, it's either going to have to be quick or handled later," Taiyang explained as all six of them gathered in the living room, Zwei pawing at Akai's leg for pets, "I'm going to be heading out with the militia here soon."

"So are we," Midori explained, "In fact, I was hoping you'd let Akai stay here while we're out with the militia.

"That's it?" Taiyang remarked, "I mean, sure, but I'm not going to be here."

"She doesn't need an adult to be present," Celadon explained, "But with the recent White Fang attack, and the Atlesian Military's presence, all it would take is for the wrong soldier to see our little girls' antlers for us to lose her…"

Akai wordlessly picked up Zwei and hugged the corgi to her chest during the awkward silence that followed.

"We figured that the best way to keep her safe from the Atlesians would be for her to hang around her human friends," Midori elaborated, "If she's seen acting friendly around humans, it will be harder for Schnee's savages to demonize her."

"The only issue is that the majority of the humans would have to be her age or older," Celadon added, "Otherwise, the Atlesians would claim they were trying to 'save the children' from her."

"And since Ruby's the only one of her friends to not have any younger siblings, and has an older sister to boot…" Midori continued.

"This was your best bet," Taiyang finished, "Okay, she can stay here as long as you need her to."

"Thank you Taiyang," Celadon replied, "Come, we can carpool to the meeting spot to save on Dust!"

"We can discuss how to repay you later," Midori added as the three adults headed out the door, "Be safe Akai! I love you!"

* * *

"So…" Yang remarked as she twiddled her thumbs, "What do you want to do?"

Akai wordlessly petted Zwei.

"We could play _Remnant: The Game_ ," Ruby suggested.

"You need four players for that game," Akai replied.

"Maybe we could watch TV?" Yang suggested.

"Hmm…"

"... We don't really hang out that much, do we?" Ruby asked.

"No… We really don't," Akai replied as she scratched behind Zwei's ear, "... Your dog's really cute!"

"Oh yeah! Zwei's _really_ good at stealing hearts!" Ruby remarked.

"What do you normally do for fun?" Yang asked.

"I read, train, or play solitaire," Akai replied, "During school, I mostly just go with whatever my friends want to do…"

"Maybe we could go out and play fetch with Zwei?" Ruby suggested.

"... I don't want to be accused of trying to steal your dog…" Akai replied.

"Maybe there's something good on TV?" Yang suggested as she flipped it on.

" _Officials were finally able to extinguish the flames following last night's White Fang attack."_

Yang changed the channel without checking to see Akai's reaction..

" _A number of people in Vale have been calling for new policies to combat the White Fang's increasingly violent-"_

Yang changed the channel, detecting a growl from somewhere in the room.

" _You let the animals pretend they're people, and this is what you-"_

Yang's eyes turned red as she muted the TV.

"Why did they even interview that asshole?" she growled, "Ruby, could you check the TV guide? If I keep mindlessly flicking through the channels, we're gonna keep getting news reports."

"Uh… Try Channel 43!" Ruby suggested after flipping through the pages, "I think there's a Micronauts marathon running!"

Yang switched to 43, and let out a sigh of relief when a cartoon started playing instead of a news report on the White Fang.

"You okay, Akai?" Yang asked.

"I'm fine…" the Faunus growled as the _Micronauts_ ' theme started playing.

"... So, wait, this Baron Karza guy can combine with his horse?" Yang asked during the first commercial break.

"Yeah, it's the gimmick for his toy," Akai replied, "He can do the same thing with the hero's steed, but that never happens in show because that's more of a quirk of the toys the show was created to promote."

"Wait, I thought the toys were based off the show," Ruby remarked.

"No, the toyline existed in Mistral for years before a Valean studio picked up the TV license," Akai replied.

"Huh…" Ruby remarked.

"Kinda weird that they don't have to deal with the Grimm," Yang added.

"Have you seen how tiny they are?" Akai asked, "And they do fight Grimm in the episodes where they're on Remnant, but usually they leave the Grimm to their human allies while they deal with Baron Karza and his minions."

"I see…" Yang remarked.

"Granted, it would be nice if there were more _heroic_ Faunus in the cast," Akai continued, "But given that this is a partly _Mistrali_ franchise, I'll take what I can get."

"... You okay, Akai?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, I'm just fine!" Akai continued, "It's not like the characters most like me in the shows I watch tend to either die early or turn out to be secretly evil! Or that ever since I moved out of my hometown, I've had to put up with people of all ages yanking on my antlers when my mother's not there to protect me! Or that there are a lot of people who'd love to kill me because of what that _butcher_ Sienna Khan did when she took over the White Fang!"

"Uh… Akai, the commercial break's ending," Yang remarked.

"It doesn't matter to them that one of her first actions as High Leader was to give every Faunus in White Fang territory with a human spouse the option to divorce their spouse or be branded a traitor!" Akai ranted as she stood up, pacing around the room, "Oh, it doesn't matter to them or to her that we'd spent DECADES trying to legalize human/Faunus marriages in Mistral just for her to immediately change the White Fang's policy mere months after it was accomplished! It doesn't matter to ANYONE that she PERSONALLY drove us away from our home just because my father refused to divorce my mother! It doesn't matter to them that my father risked his life to carry me and his injured, human wife through Grimm infested woods just to get her away from the White Fang! I just… I just…" She collapsed onto the couch.

"... You've not been having a good day, have you?" Yang asked as she sat next to Akai, opposite of Ruby.

Akai glared at her.

"Shutting up."

"Why? Why does the White Fang have to make everything _worse?_ " Akai asked, "It was scary enough when it was just the Atlesian soldiers laughing when they saw some jerks yanking on my antlers and pointing their guns at me when I tried to make them let go, but now…"

"Do you need a hug?" Ruby asked.

Akai wordlessly threw her arms around Ruby.

"Don't worry Akai, you're safe here," Yang promised.

" _No I'm not!_ " Akai protested, "If the Atlesian Military decides to kill me, all they'll need to do is kill you two and plant a Grimm Mask on my corpse, and nobody will question a thing."

"As far as I can tell, Specialist Schnee's a bit too 'by the books' for that kinda thing," Yang commented.

"The 'by the books' types are the worst," Akai replied, "It just means that they'll obey every order, no matter how cruel or unethical, and act like that somehow makes them a hero."

"Well, at the very least, Winter's on thin ice with the Vale Council" Ruby replied, "From what I've heard, they're looking for an excuse to kick her out!"

"Was that _before_ or _after_ the White Fang attack?" Akai asked.

"Erm…"

"I'm tired of feeling so _helpless!_ " Akai shouted.

"That's why the three of us are training to be Huntresses, isn't it?" Ruby asked, "So we can change the world?'

"Hmmph, yeah…" Akai commented, "When I have my license, I'm going to form a team of like-minded Faunus Huntsmen, go into Southern Anima, and bring Sienna Khan to justice!"

"You… Really want revenge that badly?" Ruby asked.

"No… If Sienna Khan was just another White Fang goon, I'd gladly let the authorities handle her," Akai replied, "But she's not just some run of the mill thug, she's the High Leader of the White Fang! The first person people around the world think of when they hear the word 'Faunus.' She _needs_ to be brought to justice by Faunus in order to undo the damage she's done to our cause. And if that _coward_ Ghira won't do it, well… _Someone_ has to pick up the slack! That said…" She finally let go of Ruby and sat up. "I'd be lying if I said that a part of me doesn't want to see the look on her _stupid face_ when I give her her just desserts! When that little girl she probably forgot all about shows up all grown up with a small army to topple the White Fang's leadership and force her to watch as her twisted empire crumbles around her!"

Ruby scooted a little bit away from Akai as Yang reflected on her encounter with Dropkick.

 _When the memory stops being fresh, will that be how I feel about Dropkick?_ she wondered. The idea of making him feel as powerless as he had made her feel certainly had its appeal. Then she imagined staring down Dropkick and remembered she was fantasizing about carrying out revenge against a giant robot the size of a house who could crush her without even _realizing_ and the soul-crushing reminder of just how out of her depth she was began to sink its claws into her consciousness.

"Wait, who's Ghira?" Ruby asked.

"The idiot who didn't see how putting someone like _Sienna Khan_ in charge could backfire," Akai replied.

"Okay, I wasn't there, but wasn't she promoted with support from most of the Fang?" Ruby asked, earning a glare from Akai, " _Shutting up!_ " Akai sighed.

"I just, I remember how bright and optimistic my parents used to be," Akai continued, "Sure times were tough, progress was slow, and my mother's parents kicked her out for marrying a Faunus, but we were making progress! Things were getting better! People were starting to see how stupid the racists were! But it didn't matter to Sienna that my mother left everything behind to help my father in the fight for equality. It didn't matter to Sienna Khan that my mother had saved the previous high leader's life when Bandits attacked us. It didn't matter to Sienna Khan that my mother had been just as thrilled as I was when my antlers started to grow in. It didn't matter to Sienna Khan that my mother gave up a life of luxury to risk her life with a bunch of Faunus outside of the Kingdom's borders. All that mattered to her was that my mother's human, and as such _had_ to be an enemy." Her hands curled into fists. "And you know what? Even when Sienna broke mother's Aura while she was fighting a Beowolf, she still didn't use that as 'proof' that Faunus can't be trusted. She still tried to argue that it's unfair to judge all of Faunus-kind off of the actions of a few extremists. She didn't love me or my father any less than she did before the incident. Even as her birth parents insist that it's somehow our fault that she… That she…" Ruby pulled Akai into a hug as her friend started crying.

"... Your mom really loves you… Doesn't she?" Yang remarked.

"... I'm sorry, I know I should be grateful that I even _have_ a mother at this point, but…"

"It's okay, Akai," Ruby remarked, "I wouldn't wish what happened to us on anyone."

"... I need some fresh air," Yang announced as she stood up, "Will you two be okay until I get back?"

"Where are you going?" Akai asked.

"Just… Paying someone a visit," Yang replied, "It's… Been a crazy couple of weeks… I won't be long…"

"So… Uh… Who was at the door?" Bumblebee asked as he and Yang drove down the wooded road.

"One of Ruby's classmates," Yang answered, "Remember that girl with the antlers I mentioned yesterday?"

"Huh… I didn't think they were that close," Bumblebee commented.

"They don't hang out that often, but they're somewhat physically affectionate," Yang replied, "But that might have to do more with Akai being a hugger than anything. Ruby's… Not really that good at 'peopling'."

"... What?"

"Point her to a problem she can shoot or beat up, she'll handle it no problem," Yang explained, "But, well… She has trouble interacting with people when her special interests aren't involved."

"She hasn't had an issue with me," Bumblebee commented.

"That's because whenever she's sought you out, it's been to complete some kind of task," Yang replied, "First it was to introduce Zwei, then it was to try and plan for every possible location of the Ark, and most recently it's been to help you navigate Remnant. Unless she's gone to you to talk about Crescent Rose or her favorite books and comics without me knowing."

"... No… I can't say she has…" Bumblebee commented, "Huh… I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out."

"Honestly, I think the only reason she isn't bombarding you with questions is because she's afraid of being rude," Yang replied, "I've seen her gush over technology before, but she also knows that Faunus don't like weird questions about their animal features. Odds are, she doesn't want to accidentally ask an intrusive question."

"Huh…" Bumblebee remarked, "Where are we going, anyway?"

"... I'm… Not sure if you'd understand," Yang sighed, "Have you ever heard something and been reminded of someone you'll never see again?"

"When the sound of his voice isn't comforting," Bumblebee answered.

"Well… There's one member of our household you haven't met yet," Yang continued, "Two if you count Uncle Qrow."

"Hmm?"

"You'll see."

A red-eyed raven watched as Yang dismounted Bumblebee and put her helmet on the saddle as she walked up to the rock near the cliffside. The stone was decorated with the symbol of a rose, and an etching:

_Summer Rose_

_Thus kindly I scatter._

"Hey, Summer," Yang opened, "Sorry I wasn't able to pay you a visit on my birthday, with all the Grimm activity, Dad didn't want to risk it. I'm sure you understand.

"It's been a crazy couple of weeks. My dad's birthday present turned out to be a giant alien robot. His name's Bumblebee, I'm sure you'd love him. He's a real softy under all the metal and circuits.

"I uh… Still haven't found my Mom yet. Haven't really had the time to search with how hectic the Atlesian Military has made everything. They just march around like they own the place, not caring that they're putting more lives in danger in pursuit of stroking their boss's ego. But I think Professor Ozpin's gonna put a stop to that.

"Oh yeah! I met Professor Ozpin! It wasn't for very long though, but he seems like a nice guy. Got along really well with Bumblebee, even gave us some advice. As for why he was there…" Yang sighed, "I'm not gonna lie, this whole situation is really bleak.

"We're being invaded by an enemy who can hide in plain sight, and they've been at war with Bumblebee's friends since before the dawn of our civilization. We don't know how far along they are in their 'take-over-the-world' scheme, but unless we can find Bumblebee's mothership, we're doomed.

"Just last night, Bumblebee and I ran into two of them, and they slaughtered twelve people with three blasts. I couldn't do anything to fight them once Dropkick got the drop on me. I haven't felt that powerless since…" Yang took a deep breath, "But… We have a plan. We just need to avoid the Decepticons until we can find the Ark, and then the Autobots can take them down!

"I know 'it's not our problem' isn't exactly the mindset of a Huntress, but I honestly don't know what else to do here! I'm not strong enough to protect _myself_ from them, how am I supposed to protect Ruby?

"But I promise, it's going to be okay! We just have to track down the thugs who stole Bumblebee's homing beacon before they do, and we'll be fine! See? I haven't forgotten how to see the bright side to a dark situation! We might not know where the Ark is, but neither do they!

"I know I'm not really your daughter, but thank you for treating me like I was when my real mother couldn't be bothered to," Yang continued as her vision blurred and the raven flew away, "But… It's just so _cold_ without you here! What was so important that you had to drop everything and vanish? Why did you… Why did you…" Yang was caught off guard when she heard the sound of metal shifting, before remembering that she had ridden Bumblebee there. "Oh, sorry Bee… This is probably really confusing, given how different things must've been back on your homeworld."

"... We had monuments back on Cybertron, Yang," Bumblebee replied as he sat down next to her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"... Ruby and I share a Dad, but we have different moms," Yang started, "My mom left when I was just a baby, and Ruby's mom, Summer Rose, stepped in to fill the void. Two years later, Ruby was born.

"She was the best mom I could've asked for. Baker of cookies, slayer of Grimm, she was my hero! But then one day… She left on a mission… And she…" Tears began to roll down Yang's face. "And they never found her body…"

Bumblebee winced, recalling the many, _many_ MIA notices he'd seen over the years.

"R-Ruby was just a toddler," Yang continued, "She didn't understand why she wasn't coming back… And to make everything worse, I learned that Summer wasn't even my Mom a few days later! I still remember the horrified looks on Dad's and Uncle Qrow's faces when they realized I was listening when they let it slip!

"I was so young and _stupid_ back then. I thought that just finding my _real_ Mom back would magically fix everything! So I…" Yang cut herself off. "I'm sorry, this is probably _nothing_ compared to what you've been through. I shouldn'-"

"Trauma's not a competition, Yang," Bumblebee interrupted, "Besides, I know what it's like to misplace your faith in someone." He rubbed the left side of his neck.

"... Did he… Did he rip it out after you warned the Jetfire and Ultra Magnus?" Yang asked.

"What? No!" Bumblebee cut in, "If Megatron had gotten his hands on me then, I wouldn't be alive right now. No, that was… A very different day…."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Yang asked.

"If you were a bit more battle-hardened, I might," Bumblebee answered, "But I don't want to burden you with this… I can handle just about anything, but you're still _technically_ a civilian. I'm supposed to face those horrors so people like you don't have to. It wouldn't be fair to unload all of that baggage on you when you're still reeling from what happened last night."

"I'm fine!" Yang insisted.

"Yang… You just poured your spark out to a monument about how you _aren't_ fine," Bumblebee replied. "So, for now, I'll hear you out, and when you're in a better headspace, I'll share some more of my old war stories, how does that sound?"

"But…"

"I've had time to heal, you haven't," Bumblebee interrupted.

Yang sighed.

"Dad _tried_ so, _so_ hard," she continued her voice cracking, "but between his own grieving, feeding two mouths with less income, and having to work at Signal, he wasn't in the right headspace to help us with our own emotional states. Then Summer's birthday rolled around, and he slept in… He barely managed to pour us bowls of cereal for breakfast, and I can still remember just how _dead_ his eyes looked. It was like the weight of the world had finally crushed him. So I decided that enough was enough, and carried out my stupid, _stupid_ plan to fix everything.

"I had found a photograph of my Dad's old team, which happened to have Summer, my Mom, and Qrow on it, and a house in the background. So, I loaded up Ruby into a wagon, and before Dad even realized it, the two of us were gone. I walked, and walked, and walked until my legs hurt and my lungs burned. But I did it, I found the house! And inside it, those burning, _red eyes_. A pack of Beowolves had moved into the house since the picture was taken.

"So there we were, a sleeping toddler oblivious to the danger and a stupid girl too tired to call for help. We should have died. And we would have, if Uncle Qrow hadn't saved us. He had been following us from the start, without me noticing.

"After that, I pretty much gave up on bringing Mom home, but I never gave up on trying to find her. Whenever I think I might have a lead, and I have the time for it, I will follow it. But I don't let it control me anymore. I had to grow up, so Ruby wouldn't have to.

"But… I couldn't protect her from that Ursa Major, and I couldn't protect _myself_ from Dropkick. How… How am I supposed to protect Ruby from _this_?" she asked as she held her right arm, tears pouring down her face.

"Yang…" Bumblebee commented. He wracked his processors, trying to figure out how to help her. He tried kneeling down to be eye-level with her and was caught off guard when she threw her arms around his neck. Bumblebee lightly returned the hug as Yang latched onto him.

"I hate feeling so _weak!_ " she sobbed, " _I don't know what I'm supposed to do!_ "

Bumblebee let Yang go as soon as she had calmed down.

"I'm sorry," she replied, "I'm usually more composed then this."

"Yang, I've been through this song and dance a million times, you were thrust into our war twenty-four hours after learning about its existence," Bumblebee replied, "It's only natural that you'd be shaken by what you went through."

"But…"

"Yang, we had just finished fighting the White Fang, the Decepticons got the jump on us, and you were preoccupied with trying to get my homing beacon," Bumblebee interrupted, "Even if you _had_ completed your training, the odds were stacked against you."

"Okay, but then how am I supposed to fight… _That_?" Yang asked. Bumblebee brought a hand to his chin.

"What's your Distinction?" he asked.

"My Semblance is 'Burn'," Yang answered, "It has a passive affect that lets me absorb power from hits, and when I activate it, I can use that power to boost my own strength."

"Do the hits you stake still damage your… 'Aura'?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yes," Yang answered.

"Okay, then it's basically useless against the 'cons if what we saw Dropkick do is anything to go by," Bumblebee replied, "What you're going to want to do instead if you're attacked by a Decepticon again is make yourself as hard to hit as possible. Assume that every blast could break your Aura. Use your speed and size to your advantage."

"Okay, but what if I need to fight back?" Yang asked.

"Go for the joints," Bumblebee instructed, "It'll mess with their mobility _and_ they're some of the least armored parts of our bodies. Our optics are also pretty fragile, but…" Bumblebee's wasp-like mask closed over his face. "A few of us have devised tricks to working around that, so it's not as reliable."

"So I had the right idea when I tried to shoot Dropkick in the face?" Yang replied.

"Yeah… But please _try_ to avoid getting grabbed in the future," Bumblebee insisted as he retracted his mask, revealing his concerned face, "I've seen some bots let themselves get nabbed to try and get a clean shot, and it _never_ ends well."

"Don't worry Bee," Yang remarked as she rubbed her right arm, "I _never_ want to find myself in that situation again!"

"I kinda figured you'd say that," Bumblebee replied, scratching the back of his head, "But don't worry, even if it seems hopeless now, you can defeat a Decepticon if you're smart about it."

"Yeah, but it'll be easier once we've found the Autobots, won't it?" Yang replied.

"It… Should be…" Bumblebee replied.

"... Okay, now what's bothering you?" Yang asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can tell that you're worried about _something_ in relation to the Ark," Yang replied, "C'mon Bee, this is actually relevant to the mission. If there's a problem, we might as well deal with it _now_. So, we might as well rip off the band-aid."

"I… Guess you're right… I think," Bumblebee replied, "I'm just… Worried…"

"About?"

"The crash," Bumblebee explained, "What if… I'm the only one who survived? What if… It's all up to just me?"

"I doubt it," Yang replied.

"Huh?"

"I don't know how durable your ship was, but if your stasis pod could survive falling from space, then I imagine the rest would be pretty durable as well," she explained, "Besides, your homing beacon had to link up to something, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah…" Bumblebee replied, "That… Is a good sign."

"But, on the off chance that you are the sole survivor, you still wouldn't be alone," Yang replied.

"Really?" Bumblebee replied incredulously.

"Yeah, because you have us!" Yang continued, "Look, demon bike behavior aside, you blew your cover to save us, so that's got you points in me and Rubes' books, and I think Dad's warming up to you, so that's the three of us.

"Outside of that, you warned Ozpin about the Decepticons, and thanks to you, we can actually prepare for battle against them. So even if you're the last Autobot, all of Remnant will stand with you against the Decepticons when the time comes to face them on the field of battle. And when I become a Huntress, I'll be fighting right there alongside you."

"What? But this isn't your war!"

"Oh don't act so surprised," Yang replied, "A Huntress' job is to defend civilization from threats to its existence, so if the Decepticons want to wipe us out, there's no way I can stay out of this fight. In other words, if Remnant's in danger, then this _is_ my war, whether you like it or not!"

"Yang, I…" Bumblebee paused, unsure what to say to that.

"You're not changing my mind, Bee," Yang declared, "Like I said, pretty much the only way I can avoid fighting Decepticons at this rate is if I give up on being a Huntress altogether. Or if you defeat Megatron before I graduate, but unless the Decepticons have seriously lost their touch since you crashed, I don't think that's likely..."

Bumblebee opened his mouth, but this time simply sighed.

"Dear Epestimus, was I this stubborn back then?" he muttered.

"We should probably head back home now," Yang replied, "Ruby and Akai might burn down the house in a hair-brained scheme if I leave them alone for too long."

"Let's… Not tempt fate," Bumblebee remarked as he folded back into vehicle mode. Yang put on her motorcycle helmet, and the two headed home.

* * *

Yang, Ruby, and Akai spent the rest of the day playing video games, with Akai heading home with her parents an hour before supper time. After Yang, Ruby, and Taiyang had eaten, the three of them went to the garage to finish the Cybertronix-to-Vytalese Cipher.

* * *

"Why did he just change back to vehicle mode?" Taiyang asked after Bumblebee scanned the last bit of the cipher.

"I think he needs to translate the code," Ruby replied.

"Okay, but why does he need to be a motorcycle for it?" Taiyang asked.

"Would you rather have me awkwardly staring into space?" Bumblebee asked.

"No," Taiyang answered.

"Then why are you complaining?" Bumblebee asked.

"Erm…"

"Either way, I'm done translating the code," Bumblebee replied as he unfolded back into robot mode, "Now, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Oh yeah! While I was with the militia, I asked around about the White Fang," Taiyang explained as he took out his pocket and pulled up the Kingdom Nav app, "A number of villages in Forever Fall have had to deal with harassment from the White Fang…"

"Actually, I have a built-in holo-emitter we could use," Bumblebee replied, "Here, let me…" A panel opened on the right side of his chest, projected a map of Remnant onto the garage door, and zoomed in on Forever Fall, "So, what are we looking for?"

"There are three villages in Forever Fall that've had trouble with the White Fang for months now," Taiyang explained, "Geode, Rhodonite, and Ferrus." The three villages were marked on the map, Geode was closest to Vale, Rhodonite was furthest east, and Ferrus was the northernmost point. Bumblebee squinted, and three lines connected them in a triangular shape.

"Anything special about those villages?" Ruby asked.

"According to this app, there's a supply line that runs right through this triangle," Bumblebee replied as train tracks materialized over the triangle, going from the northern coast to Vale, between Rhodonite and the other two villages.

"Huh…" Yang commented, "The White Fang must be based somewhere in the middle of those villages so they can rob any train that goes through there."

"I'll try and schedule a meeting with Ozpin over at Beacon," Taiyang replied as he took his Scroll out of his pocket and typed up a message. "The White Fang never stays in one place for long when they can help it."

"So… We're seriously gonna try and rob the White Fang?" Yang remarked.

"I'm going to try and reason with them first," Bumblebee corrected, "Adam might be a nutcase, but hopefully his self-preservation and fear of the Decepticons will override his hatred of me."

"... Seeing how he tried to decapitate me and kept fighting long beyond it became clear he was out of his league, I doubt it," Yang replied.

"I didn't say I was expecting it to work," Bumblebee dryly remarked as he turned off the holo-emitter, "Just that I figured I'd give peace a chance."

"Okay, I've sent the message requesting permission for a follow-up meeting on Beacon's campus, and I'm going to set an alarm in case Ozpin replies earlier than expected," Taiyang replied, "If all goes well, then this time tomorrow, we'll have your homing beacon."

"If all goes well, then this time tomorrow I'll have downloaded the coordinates and destroyed it," Bumblebee corrected, "We can't risk it falling into the Decepticons' hands."

"Either way, the future looks bright!" Ruby replied, "Tomorrow's gonna be a great day!"

* * *

" _Welcome to Atlas Academy," Winter greeted as she led her sister down the halls of the world's greatest Huntsman Academy._

" _It's an honor to be here," Weiss replied, "It's so nice to finally get out of the mansion."_

" _And you'll never have to go back there," Winter promised._

" _Well, I can ensure that's the case," a familiar voice replied. Suddenly, a glowing blue blade pierced Weiss' chest, and the younger Schnee futility reached for her sister before going limp, her empty eyes gazing into nothing. Her body, still impaled on the blade, was lifted into the air by the machine attached to the blade as Winter turned to face the wasp-like mask covering her adversary's face, Weiss' limbs swaying lifelessly._

" _Why her?!" Winter shouted as the halls turned red, blood leaking from the cracks._

" _Oh, so now you care about her?" B-127 replied as he swung his blade, and Weiss' body impaled on it, with every word, "You certainly didn't care when you ran away to leave her behind! Why, if you had stuck around, she might not have been pitted against the Arma Gigas." One careless swing of his blade finally shook Weiss loose, causing her to slide off the blade and onto the bloodstained floor, leaving red streaks on B-127's blade._

_Winter screamed and threw herself at the Autobot, only for his stinger to strike her chest, solidifying her Aura and causing her to crash to the ground, face-to-face with her sister's corpse._

" _Goodbye, Winter," B-127 replied as the paralyzed specialist heard the sound of him shifting into vehicle mode and driving away._

" _Outer perimeter has been breached!"_

" _Oh gods they're everywhere!'"_

" _The air fleet's been compromised! We can't fight them-" the radio cut off, blaring static and the sounds of battle blended to create a hellish symphony._

_But nothing was louder than the silence coming from Weiss' corpse, as Winter was helpless to do anything but stare into her sister's cold, lifeless eyes as the two sister's laid in a puddle of the younger Schnee's blood._

Winter's eyes shot open. The Specialist sat up as she tried to ease her breathing.

"That nightmare again…" She remarked. Her subconscious mind seemed to have gotten into the habit of throwing her younger sister's corpse at her, finding new and creative ways for the girl to die horribly. Winter was about to lay back down and try to get some more sleep, only to glance over her clock and realize that it was only five minutes until her alarm would've gone off anyway. "Oh of course…" She sighed. "Better get ready for that video meeting with the Vale Council…"

" _... And in addition to your complete and utter failure to deal with the White Fang or disarm the bomb, your soldiers have harassed our civilians, and our Huntsmen were too busy bailing your men out to take care of the three Alphas the militia encountered yesterday,"_ Councilman Orville continued.

"Considering that the most vocal critic was a Faunus, I'd argue that a full background check should be initiated before we take his words at face value," Winter argued, "If the White Fang are so desperate to get rid of me-"

" _So your assumption is that the man with a_ human _wife is part of the White Fang?"_ Councilwoman Sapphire asked, " _Are you listening to yourself?"_

"I…"

" _We've already spoken with the Atlas Council,"_ Councilman Viridian interrupted, " _With the exception of Councilman Ironwood-"_

" _General_ Ironwood," Winter interrupted, only to flinch when the councilman glared back at her.

" _With the exception of_ Mr. _Ironwood,"_ Councilman Viridian continued with a smirk, " _It was decided that your division is to return to Atlas by the end of the week or face Court Martial."_

"What?" Winter shouted, "But Councilman, I-"

" _Would you rather be escorted to the local precinct in handcuffs?"_ Councilman Viridian interrupted. Winter held her tongue.

" _Now, that will be all."_ The Vale Council hung up, save for Professor Ozpin.

"You're making a mistake," Winter insisted, "If I leave, there won't be anyone left to defend your Kingdom!"

" _We have our Huntsmen, the militia, and many other brave volunteers who face threats to the Kingdom every day,"_ Ozpin replied, " _I am not your enemy, Specialist, but I need to do what's best for my Kingdom."_ The Headmaster hung up, leaving Winter alone with her thoughts.

"Maybe the General will know what to do…" Winter remarked as she pressed a series of buttons on her desk, and the video call opened. "General, we have a problem."

" _Specialist Schnee,"_ General Ironwood greeted, " _I was there at the Atlas Council meeting last night."_

"I've had no luck figuring out how to contact the Decepticons without exposing the cover-up," Winter replied, "Did you tell the Council about the threat the Autobots pose?"

" _No,"_ Ironwood replied, " _I didn't see the need to get civilians involved."_ Winter sighed.

"I'll prepare to withdraw," she announced "Hopefully, we'll have time to figure out a new plan once I've returned to Atlas."

" _That's a negative."_

"Sir?"

" _You are not to return to Atlas until the Autobot threat has been neutralized,"_ Ironwood clarified.

"But sir! This isn't Atlas!" Winter replied, "Your orders alone won't justify my actions in a court of law! This could lead to a _war_ between Atlas and Vale!"

" _Then as far as the courts are concerned, you'll have gone rogue,"_ Ironwood continued.

"Sir?"

" _Tell me, Specialist, are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for your kingdom?"_ General Ironwood asked.

"... Yes."

" _Then you know what to do if the deadline comes, and B-127 is still on the loose."_

"Of course sir."

" _Good,"_ Ironwood replied, " _Dismissed."_ The second the General hung up, Winter cradled her head in her hands and tried not to cry.

" _Specialist Schnee!"_ one of her soldiers called in, " _We have a situation!"_

"Oh, what _now_?!" Winter snapped as she rose to her feet.

"Those airships have been circling our base since the meeting with the Vale Council," the soldier explained as he led Winter outside and handed her a set of binoculars. Winter lifted them to her face and looked over at the shapes in the sky. One of the shapes was a blue bullhead, which didn't raise too many concerns so far as rogue aircrafts go. No, what caught her off guard was the Atlesian Dropship, which was red rather than the standard white.

 _Even my custom airship uses only the authorized paints_ , Winter thought as she lowered the binoculars.

"What should we do about this, Specialist Schnee?" another soldier asked.

"We should try to contact them," Winter answered, "Give them the chance to surrender before we shoot them out of the sky!"

"They're coming in!" another soldier shouted.

"Of course they are," Winter growled as her hand fell to her saber's hilt, "Ready…"

The second they started gliding just over the ground, the bullhead folded into an armored car, while the dropship folded into an SUV.

"What the-" the two vehicles sped up to the gathered soldiers, and then unfolded into two bipedal giants that dwarfed B-127, "Oh no…"

"Greetings denizens of Remnant," the red one opened as she knelt, "I am Security Officer Shatter of the Decepticon Empire, and this is my partner, Dropkick."

"Oh so you get the introduce yourself with your rank and ti-"

"Shut up and kneel," Shatter growled.

Dropkick grumbled, but complied.

"We fear that a dangerous fugitive from our world may have found his way to yours," Shatter continued as she projected a holographic image of a familiar, yellow robot.

"B-127…" Winter remarked.

"So, it would seem as though you've encountered this _dangerous_ renegade," Shatter remarked, "I believe that we may have a common enemy, especially if he managed to scan a new alt mode."

"W-what?" Winter remarked, "He can just… Change his appearance that easily?"

"How did you think my partner and I took the forms of the local vehicles?" Shatter asked, "However, we have no means of blending in with your kind, and the last thing we'd want is to cause a panic by walking about in our true forms."

"... I appreciate that very much…" Winter remarked, imagining how the Grimm would react if the common people of Remnant suddenly had two giant robots searching for another giant robot amongst them, "But why are you telling me this?"

"Judging by the soldiers, we assumed you were the highest authority," Shatter replied, "You can ask around to gather intel, figure out where B-127 slithered off to after scanning his new alt mode, while we can provide some extra firepower once he's been cornered like the frizz-rat he is. So, what do you say?"

"I need to speak with my commanding officer," Winter replied, "But if it's okay with him, then you have a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screams internally* THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SHORT CHAPTER! But more and more got added on and on and on until I had 20 pages! And it was all written a little bit at a time, too!  
> I look forward to your comments, and I'll see you next time in "The Best Laid Plans". See ya then!  
> Update 10/7/2020: I just realized that I used "Geode" as the name of both a councilman and a village. His name's Orville now. It literally means "Golden Brown".


	9. Chapter 8: The Best Laid Plans: Part 1: Into the Woods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here comes the chapter!  
> TW: There's a brief moment of gaslighting in this chapter.

"So… We'll be getting to Vale tomorrow?" Amber asked as she saddled up her horse.

"Yep," Qrow replied, "Once we reach Vale, we can take an airship to Beacon."

" _Finally!_ " Amber exclaimed, "I still don't get why you couldn't have just sent out a Bullhead."

"Too conspicuous," Qrow answered.

"And a random teenager getting escorted by a grown man who's clearly not related to her isn't?" Amber asked.

"... I spent most of that time in bird form," Qrow replied.

"And flying into windows."

"And… Now you're reminding me of my old teammates," Qrow remarked dryly, "Honestly, you should've seen my sister. It took her years to learn to check windows in human form before flying out of them!"

"... You have a sister?" Amber questioned.

"Yeah, and a couple of nieces too," Qrow replied, "The oldest is gonna be attending Beacon next year. You might actually get to meet her." His tone suddenly became a bit more grave. "But if you speak anything of the Maidens or the Queen to them, and you might not live long enough to regret it, got it?"

"Yes sir…" Amber squeaked.

"Good, the last thing I need is for one of them to get involved in this war," Qrow replied, "Still, I think they'd love you if you ever do meet. I even taught one of them how to use her own scythe!"

"Can she turn into a bird too?" Amber asked.

"... The bird thing's actually pretty similar to the Maiden thing," Qrow replied.

"... You mean that's not your Semblance?" Amber asked.

"No… My Semblance is the reason I keep an eye on you from a distance," Qrow answered, "Now get going, we're wasting daylight."

"Alright alright, I'm going!" Amber remarked as she mounted her horse, "Let's mosey!"

"... And… You made it weird," Qrow remarked as the horse moseyed out of the stable.

"This situation was weird from the start," Amber shot back over her shoulder.

"That kid's gonna be the death of me…" Qrow mumbled as he followed after her, from a safe distance.

* * *

Winter sat in the driver's seat of the red SUV, keeping her hands on the wheel as it drove itself down the wooded road.

"What's so special about B-127 in particular?" she asked.

"Oh, not much," Shatter's voice replied through the radio, "Only that he betrayed our cause to side with Optimus Prime when he stole the Matrix of Leadership from Lord Megatron."

"The Matrix of Leadership?" Winter questioned.

"An ancient and powerful relic that serves as our homeworld's… 'Remote Control' let's call it," Shatter explained, "Cybertron was, at the end of the day, just one massive machine, after all, and the Matrix served as its control panel, allowing our planet's leaders to control the flow of Energon through its inner workings, operating the mechanisms that made life on our homeworld possible. But in the hands of the Autobots, it was used to drive us off world. They used it to steal our Empire's glorious capitol, incited rebellions in our territories to keep us from taking it back!

"But Megatron was able to form a plan. Using materials left over from the war the original Thirteen Primes waged against Exarchon and his Scrapmetals, he was able to create a replica of the Matrix of Leadership, attuned it to Cybertron, and helped us take back and upgrade our homeworld, jumpstarting a new golden age! Optimus Prime decided that if he couldn't have Cybertron, no one could.

"With B-127's help, they snuck into our capital, descended into the core of Cybertron, destroyed Megatron's Matrix, and rigged the entire planet to self-destruct. We… Weren't able to evacuate everyone in time…"

"That sounds… Awful," Winter replied, "I'm… Sorry you had to go through that."

"It's been millenia," Shatter remarked, "Some days, though, the thought of _revenge_ is all that keeps me going."

"Do you think… The Autobots are going to try to destroy Remnant too?" Winter asked.

"It's a distinct possibility," Shatter replied as the sign for Witwicky Automotive came up in the distance, "Is this the dealership you mentioned losing B-127 at?"

Rusty Witwicky was not having a good day. While the fires had been extinguished the previous day, a handful of the more expensive cars had been destroyed in the blast, and all of the windows in the lot had been shattered.

"At least my insurance is up to date," he sighed, before turning to face the red motorcycle, "Now if only I could find your keys." That was when the red SUV pulled up, and a young woman in white stepped out. "Can I help you, Specialist Schnee?" Rusty asked.

"I was hoping to buy a motorcycle for personal use before returning to Atlas," Winter claimed, "You wouldn't happen to have a yellow motorcycle in stock, would you?"

"Erm… This is awkward," Rusty remarked, "A couple of weeks ago I had a yellow G1 Dustfire in stock. Don't remember when or where I bought it, though."

"Wait, _had_?" Winter pressed, "Was it stolen?"

"Oh no!" Rusty replied with a laugh, "A local Huntsman bought it for his daughter. I've seen the girl riding it all around ever since. Why, I heard she even gave it a cute name."

"I see," Winter replied, "Thank you but-"

 _"Bumblebee_ is _a pretty cool bike!"_

"... I think we've met," her eyebrow twitched, "If you'll excuse me, I must be going." With that, Winter climbed right back into the SUV and drove away.

* * *

"So… Why do you call this place 'Forever Fall'?" Bumblebee asked as the Bullhead that had carried him and Yang there disappeared over the horizon.

"Because the leaves are red all year round," Yang explained as she took off her backpack, "Normally, that only happens in the Fall."

"The Fall?"

"A transition between Summer and Winter," Yang explained, "Sometimes it's called 'Autumn'. The trees' kinda 'hibernate' during that time of year, their leaves die and fall off, with new leaves growing in the spring. But the Forever Fall trees are kinda weird, and replace their leaves much faster than trees anywhere else in the world. Nobody's really sure how or why though."

"Ah… Why's the grass red?" Bumblebee asked.

"I have no idea," Yang answered.

"Oh…" Bumblebee remarked, "We should probably review the plan, since… I wasn't there when we formed most of it."

"That we should!" Yang replied as she took out and unfurled a map of Forever Fall, "Professor Goodwitch is going to be waiting for us in Geode, taking care of some of the Grimm that've been attacking the village's walls. Apparently some pretty weird ones have been turning up lately. Dad's going to try and get his hands on his own G1-Dustfire to send the Decepticons on a wild goose chase while we're handling the comparatively safe mission of sweeping Grimm-infested woods for the White Fang. Professor Ozpin looked over reports of Grimm activity in Forever Fall with the Grimm studies teacher and believes that the White Fang are probably in this area here!" She pointed at the circled portion of the map. "Professor Goodwitch, meanwhile, dropped us off here!" She pointed at an X south of that circle.

"Ozpin said we should follow the Grimm," Bumblebee noted.

"Yep! And if you just so happen to save them from a Grimm attack, that might endear you to the White Fang," Yang remarked, "Of course, if Adam wants payback for what the Decepticons did to his guys, that might also work out for us."

"Oh by the way, I heard you'd come up with a cover story in case this takes more than just a day," Bumblebee remarked, "What did you mean by that?"

"Oh, if anyone asks my Dad, me and Ruby are visiting a family friend until the Grimm population is under control," Yang replied, "And since Dad's social circle apparently includes _Professor Ozpin_ of all people, that should cover all our bases."

"Wait, Ruby's not going back to Patch?" Bumblebee asked.

"No, remember how you had to stay on the airship with Zwei while the rest of us went into Beacon?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied, "Didn't Ozpin think that bringing a motorcycle up to his office would be a little conspicuous?"

"Yeah, while we were there, Ozpin agreed to keep an eye on Rubes and Zwei until this whole situation is sorted out," Yang explained.

"Uh… About that…" a high pitched voice remarked as a silver-eyed girl in a red hood jumped down from a tree.

"RUBY!?" Yang shouted, "How did you-"

"After I gave you a good luck hug and took off with Zwei, I doubled back and hid in one of the boxes Professor Goodwitch was taking to Forever Fall!" Ruby explained as she took off her backpack, "Speaking of, I don't know what was in there, but seeing how the box had air holes and the lid was on the ground, I think it's loose on Beacon's campus. We should _probably_ give Ozpin a head's up once we've found Bumblebee's homing beacon!"

"... I'm calling Professor Goodwitch," Yang remarked bluntly as she took out her Scroll.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T TAKE HER BACK TO BEACON!?" Yang shouted.

" _I mean that there's simply too many Grimm for me to leave until back-up can arrive, tomorrow!"_ Professor Goodwitch explained, " _And you don't need to shout, Miss Xiao Long!"_

"Oh grapes..." Yang groaned as Ruby cheered.

" _But don't think your father won't be hearing about this, Miss Rose,"_ Professor Goodwitch continued as Ruby's face paled, " _Something tells me he won't be too happy to hear about this."_

"... So what was _supposed_ to be in that box anyway?" Ruby asked.

" _Nothing too important, thankfully,"_ Professor Goodwitch replied, " _But I'll have to let Ozpin know that it's loose."_ She sighed. " _Wrangling that thing was such a pain the first time around…"_

"So… I'm gonna have to keep an eye on Rubes until we can get to the village?" Yang questioned.

" _Unfortunately,"_ Professor Goodwitch answered, " _Good luck Miss Xiao Long, you're going to need it."_ The professor hung up.

"... I know Yang packed her helmet, but taking you around without one's going to be an issue," Bumblebee commented.

"Don't worry," Ruby replied as she took a ladybug-patterned motorcycle helmet out of her backpack and put it on, "I came prepared!"

"... If you die, I will kill you," Yang replied bluntly as she put on her own helmet and Bumblebee scanned the map.

"I've picked out a destination inside the search radius," he announced as he shifted into motorcycle mode, "I'm ready to go as soon as you are!"

"Alright! Let's go Team BYR!" Ruby shouted as she jumped into the air.

"... That sounds like a name Uncle Qrow would come up with…" Yang remarked as she rolled up the map and put it into her backpack.

"Don't ruin my moment," Ruby replied.

* * *

"Mrs. Belladonna, I must admit that I wasn't expecting you to call today," Adam opened, through gritted teeth, "Are you calling to complain about my methods?"

" _Oh no, Sienna Khan already told me what she thought of your Mantlite Bomb stunt,"_ Kali coldly replied, " _I want to know what you said to my baby!"_

"... I'm sorry, what?"

" _I can understand why she'd want to hide her ears while among humans,"_ Kali explained, " _I don't like that she_ has _to do that to feel safe, but I understand her logic. What I don't understand is why she doesn't feel safe when she's around her fellow Faunus."_

"You have _yourself_ to thank for that," Adam claimied.

" _Excuse me?"_

"Blake has _your_ ears, and you aren't particularly popular with the White Fang," Adam explained, "The less people who know she's related to you, the safer she'll be."

" _I… I see…"_ Kali replied, " _But why me in particular? Why not Ghira?"_

"Because unlike your husband, you have a bodycount," Adam replied, "Many see your condemnation of the more violent course we've taken as hypocrisy."

" _... While I was on the guard, I never once used lethal force on a defeated opponent,"_ Kali replied, " _Should an assassin happen to die because he refused to back down, that's one thing._ _Turning the organization that's meant to be a partnership between humanity and Faunus into a weapon against humanity is completely different from that."_

"And yet humanity didn't acknowledge us until Sienna Khan took over," Adam argued.

" _... Can I at least speak with Blake, please?"_ Kali asked.

"If she wanted anything to do with you, don't you think she would've replied to your letters?" Adam asked, "She doesn't even open them before burning them now."

" _I… I see…"_ Kali replied, " _I'm sorry for bothering you…_ " She hung up, and Adam smirked.

"What was that about letters?" Blake asked as she walked into the tent.

 _Shit!_ "What are you talking about, darling?" Adam asked as he mentally kicked himself for not giving Blake a chore that would keep her out of earshot of the video call.

"I could've sworn I heard Mom say that she was sending me letters, and you claiming that I was burning them," Blake answered, "But… I haven't gotten any letters from home!"

"Because they haven't been sending any!" Adam insisted, "And why should they, when you betrayed everything they stood for! Why, it wouldn't surprise me if they hated you."

"I…" Blake's retort died in her throat.

"Think about it Blake, do you honestly think that they wouldn't abandon you after they abandoned their life's work?" Adam asked.

"I… I guess you're right…" Blake replied, her voice cracking.

"But don't worry, Blake," Adam said as he lifted her chin, "I'll never abandon you." Blake tensed as Adam pulled her into a kiss.

"I'm sorry," Blake said as soon as Adam released her.

"All is forgiven," Adam said with a grin.

* * *

"Ugh… This is so _dull!_ " Dropkick whined from his place on the floor as he shifted his left hand into a buzzsaw and idly spun the blade, "There's nothing to do in this damned hangar!"

"Get over yourself," Shatter replied as she stood above him, "We can either wander around Patch aimlessly, or we can use Specialist Schnee's resources to locate his base of operations and strike him when he's at his most vulnerable."

"Hmmph," Dropkick retracted his buzzsaw, "I don't see how she can get anything we couldn't get from Soundwave."

"I know where B-127 is!" Winter announced as she stepped out onto a catwalk.

"Oh?" Shatter remarked as Dropkick rose to his feet.

"With what Mr. Witwicky told me, it was simply a matter of knowing where to look," Winter remarked as she took out and opened her Scroll, "And the wonders of modern technology gave me the perfect resource to find the girl who slipped between my fingers the other day."

"A government database?" Shatter questioned.

"Social media," Winter answered, "Just two weeks ago, a girl named Yang Xiao Long posted a picture of herself posing with a motorcycle that matches B-127's assumed appearance to her Kingdom Link page. From there, it was just a few quick searches to figure out her home address." Shatter grinned.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

* * *

"Couldn't Starscream have dropped us off a little bit closer to the camp?" a gray-haired boy asked as he and his companions marched through Forever Fall.

"The White Fang aren't particularly fond of Atlesians or Decepticons at the moment," their leader, a black-haired, golden-eyed woman replied, "So even if Starscream _immediately_ switched over to robot mode the second we landed, it would do little to endear us to them."

"Cinder knows what she's doing, Mercury" a dark-skinned, green-haired girl remarked as she shot a smug look at her companion. The gray haired boy grumbled. Cinder held up a hand, and the trio came to the stop.

"Someone's coming," she remarked as the roaring of an engine grew louder, no, closer. In a few seconds, a motorcycle swerved to avoid them, skidding to a halt. Cinder eyed the motorcycle and its riders carefully. The motorcycle itself was yellow, with some parts of it looking slightly more orange, one of its riders was a girl in a red cape, who clung to the blond-haired girl who appeared to be steering.

Of course, given what she had been told and shown, both girls could simply be along for the ride.

"What brings you out here?" Cinder asked carefully as the green-haired girl eyed the motorcycle nervously.

"We're traveling between villages," the blond haired girl answered, "What about you?"

"It's much the same for us," Cinder replied, "I'm afraid that we're in a bit of a hurry though."

"Oh, well we're trying to avoid Grimm, kinda hard to fight from the back of a motorcycle after all," the blond-haired girl claimed, "You wouldn't happen to know about any huge groups of Grimm we should avoid, would you?"

"A large amount of Grimm have been heading northwest from here," Cinder answered, "You'll want to head northeast to avoid them."

"Thanks!" the girl on the motorcycle answered before driving off into the northeast. Then, when they were out of sight but not earshot, swerved in the exact direction Cinder told them to avoid.

"Emerald?"

"That was _definitely_ the Autobot Starscream warned us about," the green-haired girl answered, "I could feel its mind with my Semblance. I didn't do anything to its senses, but I could tell it was _there_."

"That… Complicates things," Cinder remarked, "We'll have to stay hidden and observe. In the event that an alliance does form, turning the Autobots and White Fang against each other shouldn't be too hard. The Autobots would try to unite humanity and the Faunus against Megatron, which would _definitely_ get in the way of Adam's plans."

"Doesn't that also get in the way of _your_ plans?" Emerald asked.

"Humanity can barely tolerate the Faunus as is," Cinder answered, "What makes you think they'll be any more receptive to something that isn't even of this world?"

* * *

Taiyang sighed as he pulled into his driveway. Out of all the businesses he visited, the only one with a motorcycle he could afford was Witwicky Automotive, with the G1-Dustfire Bumblebee had scanned. Meaning that Rusty had given them the key to said Dustfire, meaning that he didn't have the key anymore.

"I should've just borrowed Bumblebee's key," Taiyang groaned as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Hindsight was both a blessing and a curse. "Well, at least I can trust that the girls are safe," he muttered as he opened the driver's side door and stepped out of Zippy.

"And where are your daughters, Mr. Xiao Long?" Specialist Winter Schnee asked as she stepped into the clearing, "Between the White Fang and the Grimm, you can never be too careful."

"Specialist Schnee?" Taiyang remarked nervously, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm following a lead," Winter explained as she crossed the clearing, one step at a time, walking towards Taiyang, "Someone stole something from me, and I think your daughter knows who it is."

"My daughter's not a criminal," Taiyang growled. Winter smirked.

"Perhaps, but she might be a traitor," she stated bluntly, before taking her eyes off of Taiyang to circle him in her footsteps, "The only question is how much you know."

"About what?" Taiyang questioned as he took out his Scroll, and began typing a message.

"There's a war on the horizon, Mr. Xiao Long," Winter answered, "And I need to know where you stand." A tiny Nevermore facsimile snatched Taiyang's Scroll and flew it over to Winter. "Just looking at this message-"

_don't come back, ironwoods gone ro_

"-it would seem that my gut feeling was correct."

_CRUNCH!_

"Now, we can do this the easy way," Winter discarded the broken pieces of Taiyang's phone and drew her saber, "Or the hard way." Taiyang remembered that he didn't close the door on his car, and so sat back down into the driver's seat, pulled the door shut, and started the engine, unaware of the Glyph formed under Zippy. The second Taiyang hit the Dust pedal, a Beringel facsimile rose from the Glyph, grasped the hood and trunk of Zippy in its hands, and squeezed. Taiyang quickly switched his weapon to battle mode (After the Ursa Major incident, he'd altered his weapon to make arming himself easier), and winced as the shriek of tearing metal assaulted his ears. Even with tears blurring his vision, Taiyang was still able to launch himself at the false Grimm, throwing two punches and firing two bullets into the Grimm's eyes.

Winter watched, baffled, as her Summon dissolved, Mr. Xiao Long and the two halves of his car dropping out of the air, between her, the house, and a treestump with an ax lodged in it.

"What?"

"That was Summer's car," Mr. Xiao Long growled.

"No matter," Winter remarked as two Beowolves emerged from her Glyphs, "There's still only one of you!" The Beowolves charged Taiyang, and he blasted one's head apart and casually smashed the other to bits.

"Listen here, Specialist," Mr. Xiao Long opened, "I'm a Huntsman, and I went through far more intense training than your bootcamp could ever dream of to earn that license!"

"I graduated from Atlas!" Winter shot back as she charged the Valean Huntsman. He sidestepped her swipe and punched her in the side.

"And Atlas' standards have lowered ever since James took over," Mr. Xiao Long continued, punching more bullets in Winter's direction as she separated the components of her saber to hack and slash them out of the air, "But what should I expect when the Headmaster barely graduated combat school and washed out at the first hurdle Atlas Academy threw at him?"

" _HOW DARE YOU!_ " Winter threw herself at Mr. Xiao Long. The Specialist mindlessly hacked and slashed at the Huntsman. When the Huntsman caught one of her blades, Winter summoned a flock of Nevermores from under his feet, launching him through the air.

_THUD!_

The Huntsman hit the dirt next to the tree stump.

"General Ironwood fixed Atlas' Huntsman problem! Funneling those Lien-hungry hooligans into something productive!" Winter shouted as Mr. Xiao Long groaned and pushed himself to his feet.

"Is that all you got?" he asked as her Beowolf summons surrounded him.

"It's all I need," Winter replied as she recombined and sheathed her saber, "You've lost." The Beowolves dogpiled Mr. Xiao Long as Winter looked over the house. "Setting a trap for B-127 here should be simple," she stated, "Too bad those girls will probably be caught in the crossfire."

_**BOOM!** _

Winter glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the fragments of her summons dissolve in the air, as well as the ax spinning through the air towards her head.

" _Shit!"_ she hit the dirt, and the ax embedded itself in the house's front door as a yellow blur rushed up to her.

"Don't."

_**POW!** _

"Touch!"

_**POW!** _

" _My!"_

_**POW!** _

" _ **Girls!"**_

_**POW!** _

That last punch knocked Winter into one of the house's walls, cracking the wood planks. Winter pulled herself free as the Huntsman charged her.

_**POW!** _

Winter ducked out of the way as Mr. Xiao Long's fist punched _through_ the wall. Winter drew her saber as the Huntsman pulled his fist free, sending shards of wood to the ground as he ran at Winter. She swung her saber at him. Mr. Xiao Long caught the saber in his right hand with a wince.

"How?" Winter asked.

"Aura," he replied, before delivering an uppercut to her chin, ripping the saber from her hands as the Specialist was sent flying.

Taiyang smirked as Winter landed a few feet away with a satisfying _thud_.

"Give up yet?" Taiyang asked as he tossed Winter's saber aside so his Aura could heal the cuts on his palm and fingers. Winter snarled and summoned an Ursa, sending the bear-like Grimm facsimile charging straight at him. "Oh this is going to feel good." Taiyang recoil boosted himself at the facsimile Grimm, grabbed its right arm when it tried to swipe at him, and spotted Winter running for her saber out of the corner of his eye. He smirked, and threw the Ursa at its master with all his strength.

_Thud!_

The Ursa dissolved as Winter stumbled across the ground, sliding to a stop next to her saber. Taiyang recoil boosted towards the Atlesian Specialist, only for the roar of an airship's engines to capture his attention. He glanced upwards, just in time to see a red Atlesian Dropship pointing its guns at him.

_**BRATATATATATATATATATATAT!** _

Taiyang shielded his face and cried out as the hail of bullets bombarded his Aura, coating every inch of exposed skin with bruises. The Dropship ceased its fire as Taiyang stumbled across the ground, his Aura flickering out as he skidded to a stop. The Dropship shifted and folded into a bipedal robot as it dropped to the ground.

"Excellent work Specialist Schnee," the Decepticon ( _Shatter!_ Taiyang realized) stated. A blue armored car swerved into the clearing and transformed into a second, bipedal robot with red, Grimm-like eyes.

"Where's B-127?" he asked, oblivious to the glare the downed Huntsman was shooting at him.

"It would appear as though he's departed with both of Mr. Xiao Long's daughters," Winter replied as she sheathed her saber, "B-127 is bound to return here."

"But he might bring the Autobots back with him…" Shatter noted, "Of course, tracking him down would be as simple as locating the people who stole his homing beacon, if he truly hasn't had the chance to steal it back."

"With my resources, that would be trivial," Winter remarked, "So, Mr. Xiao Long, the way I see it, your daughters might be innocent victims of B-127's manipulations, in which case I'll return them to you unharmed. But if they're not... Then they're his accomplices, and even if I'd rather not hurt a child, I do have a job to do."

"If you lay one finger on either of my girls, I'll-"

"You're not in the position to be making threats," Shatter interrupted as she shifted her arm into an Energon pistol and aimed it at Taiyang, "And it's not a matter of if we'll find them, but _when_."

"And _when_ we find them, I'll have to decide whether to rescue them from the dangerous fugitive, or arrest B-127's accomplices," Winter continued, "So Mr. Xiao Long, please, where did B-127 take your daughters? If you answer honestly, I promise that they'll be returned safely to you, and we can all pretend that this horrible miscommunication never happened, if not… The Solitan Dust Mines could always use a few extra hands." She leveled her gaze with Taiyang. "So, which will it be?"

Taiyang mulled over his options. His Scroll, car, and Aura were all gone, so he couldn't send a message to Ozpin or Yang to warn them, nor could he flee to Beacon and warn Ozpin in person. Without his Aura, fighting his way out wasn't an option, and it took just one look at the monster that tortured his Sunny Little Dragon to realize that, as cathartic as reducing him to scrap would be, attempting so would be ill advised even _if_ his Aura hadn't run out. It also didn't take long for him to come to the conclusion that Winter could easily track down Yang and Bumblebee in Forever Fall, just by tracking down the White Fang and setting up a trap to ensnare Yang, Bumblebee, and the Fang in one fell swoop. He could not, would not let anything happen to either of his girls.

"You promise that no harm will come to them?" he asked.

"You have my word that your children will be safely delivered to you," Winter answered, " _If_ you comply."

Taiyang sighed.

_I'm sorry Bumblebee._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And... There's the chapter! I'll be honest, the Taiyang vs Winter battle was actually a last-minute decision to keep Taiyang from looking completely pathetic, though Taiyang trying to kill Winter outright kinda just happened. I decided to split this chapter in two parts because that closing line just made for the perfect cliffhanger.  
> I'll see you next time for Part 2!


	10. Chapter 9: The Best Laid Plans: Part 2: All Fall Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I had some real trouble with the middle portion of this chapter thanks to the political climate making it hard for me to focus. Fortunately, I was able to get this to a satisfactory ending point. I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Shatter and Dropkick flew over the Forever Fall Forest, Winter seated in Shatter's co-pilot seat, the sun nearing the horizon.

"So, how exactly did Cybertron's government work?" Winter asked.

"Prior to Megatron declaring Martial Law in light of the Civil War, the planet was divided into thirteen sectors. Twelve of those sectors were under the jurisdiction of an elected councilor, and the High Council shared jurisdiction of the thirteenth sector, the Capitol. The High Council decided who held the Matrix, but the Council was dissolved upon the Autobot's theft of the Matrix.", one for Mantle, and one for Atlas Academy

"So… Kinda like how the Kingdom Councils work then," Winter remarked, "One elected official for every city in the Kingdom's borders, plus the Headmaster running the Huntsman Academy."

" _Yeah, except whoever wielded the Matrix reigned supreme,"_ Dropkick added over Shatter's radio, " _The council mostly just did whatever he wanted."_

"So an improved version of Atlas' government, then…" Winter remarked.

"Oh?" Shatter remarked.

"When the council system was first established, my Kingdom only had one city, Mantle, which meant that the Council only had two seats, and the Councilman and the Headmaster were constantly at each other's throats," Winter explained, "Eventually, the two realized that they needed at least one more seat on the Council to keep the Kingdom from falling apart. While they at first planned to divide Mantle into two cities, General Lagune of the Mantlite Military convinced them to give the Military a permanent seat on the Council instead. Ever since then, the General has had a vote in all Council Decisions."

"Lagune sounds like a very wise man…" Shatter remarked as she checked the historical records Starscream had uploaded into Trypticon's computers, noticing that Lagune was a self-serving gloryhound who got himself killed trying to fist-fight a Beowolf after single-handedly losing the Faunus war.

"... He was a good politician," Winter replied with a tone that told Shatter that even the professional pede-polisher's blind nationalism had limits, "Regardless, he did set the stage for far better men to improve our Kingdom's standing after he stepped down."

" _We're nearing the landing site!"_ Dropkick announced.

"And is there any particular reason why we can't just go after the White Fang and kill two birds with one stone?" Winter asked.

"Because if B-127 teams up with the White Fang, their numbers might be enough to overwhelm our firepower advantage," Shatter replied, "And if he doesn't, he could use the White Fang as a distraction and slip away with his homing beacon. We must be careful not to lose sight of what's truly important." The fact that their allies were using the White Fang as pawns was filed under "things Atlas must never learn" as she lowered herself into the clearing to drop off Winter. Soon, frosty Nevermore facsimiles patrolled the woods.

"Are you sure that will suffice?" Shatter asked through Winter's Scroll.

"My Summons are linked to and controlled by my Aura," the Special Operative replied, "If I focus, I can see through their eyes and channel my Semblance through them if any of them see B-127 or Miss Xiao Long. So, I'll need you to watch my back while they're searching!"

" _Sure, sure…"_ Dropkick replied as Winter closed her eyes and sat down.

 _Your days are numbered, B-127,_ she thought.

* * *

Blake Belladonna was not having a good day. Between the reminder of what she had given up to rejoin the White Fang, the paranoia resulting from the robots in disguise she had encountered a couple of nights prior, the fact that the High Leader still hadn't gotten back to them about Razorclaw, and that one green Creep that had blown itself up when she stabbed it, there weren't many ways the day could possibly get worse.

So naturally, a Beowolf Alpha, a couple of Ursai, and way more Beowolves than she could count showed up dangerously close to the camp right when Adam left to deal with an Ursa Major and the Grimm it had rallied on the other side of camp, leaving her and the Lieutenant to rally the troops and deal with the Grimm.

So naturally, Blake found it very cathartic to use her Semblance to bait a Grimm into running face-first into the Lieutenant's chainsaw. The Beowolf had just enough time to let out a startled whimper before it was sawed in two.

"Making me do your dirty work, Belladonna?" the Lieutenant spat as the Beowolf's body dissolved around him.

"You're a bit sturdier than I am!" Blake replied as she ducked under a Beowolf's swinging paw to shoot it in the chin with Gambol Shroud.

The Lieutenant didn't reply as he swung his saw at another Beowolf, slowly cutting through its body. Other Grimm were gunned down by the rest of the present White Fang members, but with an Alpha calling the shots, it didn't take long for the Grimm to start circling around to attack from behind. Blake heard one of her brothers in arms cry out and charged towards the scream as a Beowolf held one of the recruits in place. Blake swung _Gambol Shroud_ through the monster's neck as its jaws closed on the recruit's head. The recruit's unconscious body dropped to the ground as the Beowolf disintegrated.

"We need a medic here!" Blake called, only to notice another recruit, a couple of years younger than her, firing desperately at an Ursa that was bearing down on him with no sign of slowing down. Without a word, Blake dashed past the recruit and slashed Gambol Shroud across the Ursa's flank. The Grimm roared, either in pain or annoyance, and its swiping paw passed right through the decoy Blake's Semblance left behind, allowing for the real Blake to lunge forward and stab Gambol Shroud into its throat. She heard something charging from behind her, and whirled around the dying Grimm's body, tugging on Gambol Shroud's ribbon to switch it into chain-scythe mode.

_BANG!_

Gambol Shroud shot a Beowolf in the face, and the recoil decapitated the Ursa.

"Th-thanks," the recruit stated before raising his gun, "Duck!" Blake hit the dirt as the recruit opened fire on the Alpha, who pulled Blake off the ground and held her in front of itself like a shield. Blake cried out as the bullets struck her Aura.

"Stop it! _Stop it!_ " she shouted as the recruit lowered his gun.

"Lieutenant, what do we do?" he shouted.

"... If Blake disengages her Aura, you should be able to shoot the Alpha through her," the Lieutenant answered as he shoved his chainsaw through a Grimm.

"But that would hurt her!" the recruit shouted.

"Just don't hit anything vital, and the healing properties of her Aura will keep her alive!" the Lieutenant shouted, "Better hurry, before the Alpha kills her..."

"I…" the recruit looked at Blake, who was still struggling against the Alpha's grip, before giving up and nodding at him. The recruit sighed, raised his gun, and everyone, Faunus and Grimm alike, paused at the sound of a roaring engine. A yellow motorcycle slammed into the Alpha Beowolf, releasing Blake as yellow and red blurs leapt off the bike. "Oh thank the Brothers," the recruit sighed as he lowered his gun.

"Bumblebee! Don't let the Alpha get away!" Ruby shouted as she shifted _Crescent Rose_ into scythe mode and charged for the nearest group of Grimm.

"Got it!" Bumblebee shouted as he shifted into robot mode (earning _several_ baffled glances) and threw himself at the Grimm he had just bowled over. Yang turned to face the girl that the Beowolf had thrown.

"You okay?" she asked as she held out her hand. Blake scowled.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped as she swatted Yang's hand away and pushed herself to her feet, "What the Hell are you even doing here?"

"At the moment, saving you from the Grimm," Yang deadpanned.

"We had this completely under control!" Blake insisted as she pointed her blade at Yang, "So you can pack up your robotic attack dog, go settle your score with the Atlesians, and leave us alo-"

"Get down!" Yang interrupted as she shoved Blake out of the way and threw herself at an Ursa that was barreling towards them. Yang met it halfway, and delivered a flurry of punches to its chest.

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Each punch propelled an explosive round into the Ursa's body until its shredded remains dissolved, prompting Yang to shoot a smug smirk over her shoulder at Blake.

"Okay, we could use a _little_ help!" Blake conceded, before turning to the red-caped girl who was hacking apart Beowolves with her scythe. "Who's she?"

"A brat and a stowaway," Yang answered as she walked up to Blake, "Just try not to get too close to her while she's swinging her scythe around. She's good with it, but skill can only get so far when someone jumps in the path of your deadly scythe."

"Noted…" Blake replied as she turned to face the rest of the Grimm, switching _Gambol Shroud_ to pistol mode, "I still want answers."

_Ca-click!_

"After the Grimm have been taken care of," Yang promised.

_BOOM!_

The two girls threw themselves at the Grimm.

* * *

"And I think that's the last of them," Bumblebee said as crushed a Beowolf's head underfoot, "Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen that many Grimm in one place before…"

"The hit to morale must have attracted their attention," Blake remarked, "Losing twelve people in one mission will do that."

"Wait, does this have anything to do with those Decepticons you're so worried about?" Ruby asked as she walked away from her rapidly disintegrating pile of Grimm pieces.

"I still have no idea who you are," Blake replied as the Lieutenant approached them.

"And what brings you two _humans_ here?" he asked as he brandished his chainsaw, "If you value your lives, I suggest you answer carefully."

"... I don't think they're the ones you need to worry about," Bumblebee deadpanned as he stepped between the White Fang and his two companions, "But if you must know, they're with me." The Lieutenant's mask made reading his facial expression impossible.

"He's a living robot, has an Aura and everything," Blake explained.

"... What?"

"I'm also from another planet," Bumblebee added, "Name's Bumblebee, and I was hoping to have a friendly chat with your boss."

"... He means that literally, by the way," Yang added, "We're not looking for trouble!"

"So you decided to seek out the group dedicated to punishing your species for their crimes against Faunus everywhere?" the Lieutenant asked, "You're either very brave, or very stupid."

"We did bring a robot warrior from another world with us," Ruby pointed out.

"She has a point sir," the recruit Blake had saved from the Ursa remarked.

"Shut up River," the Lieutenant growled.

" _Yessir!_ " River squeaked.

"As for you three," the Lieutenant said as he turned his attention to Bumblebee, Yang, and Ruby, "Let it never be said that I'm an ingrate, if you promise to leave so I can let Adam know we need to relocate camps, I'll spare your lives. This time."

"Oh, so Adam is here?" Bumblebee remarked.

The Lieutenant brandished his chainsaw.

"... Look, we have a common enemy!" Ruby cut in, "The Decepticons won't rest until-"

"What the Hell is going on here?" Adam shouted as he walked out of the camp to the small gathering right outside, "I'd just taken care of that damned Ursa only to find…" His voice trailed off as he noticed Bumblebee. " _You…_ "

"Oh Adam! Nice to see you again!" Bumblebee greeted.

"How the Hell did you find this place?" Adam growled.

"A family friend mentioned that the White Fang had been doing raids in this neck of the woods," Ruby answered.

"I told you we should've just gone to the black market," Blake hissed.

"Now's not the time," Adam replied, before putting a hand on _Wilt_ 's hilt and turning to face Bumblebee, "So, have you come to kill the rest of us?"

"If I had, I would've just let the Grimm handle it," Bumblebee answered, "No, I'm here to discuss our common enemy."

"The Atlesians?" Adam guessed, "Sorry, but I'm already more than prepared to deal with them."

"Actually, I was talking about the Decepticons who slaughtered your followers," Bumblebee answered, "But before I continue, should we all be gathered out here like this?"

* * *

"I'll be honest," Yang remarked, "I never thought I'd be welcomed into a White Fang camp for a friendly chat."

"Don't get too comfortable," Blake warned, "We're not exactly fond of your kind."

"So… Uh… Should I boil some water or something?" River asked, "I've… Never had to accommodate a giant robot as a guest before."

"We don't owe these humans anything," Adam snarled.

"We did save your girlfriend's life," Yang pointed out. Adam looked like he very much wanted to stab her.

"So uh… What should I do Mr. Taurus, sir?" River asked.

"Go on lookout," Adam ordered, "Make sure they didn't bring any other uninvited guests."

"Yessir!" the Faunus squeaked before running to the edge of camp. Ruby watched him run off and noticed just how many White Fang members they were, and resisted the urge to reach for _Crescent Rose_ when she noticed how many of them were very clearly keeping their fingers on the triggers of their guns.

"You have taught your followers basic firearm safety, right?" Ruby asked as she turned to face Adam.

"Trust me, if you get shot, it _won't_ be an accident," Adam answered, "Now, what do you want?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd give me my homing beacon before the Decepticons realize you have it and decide to take it by force," Bumblebee replied, "I kind of need that to find my way back to the Ark and wake up Optimus Prime."

"Who?" Adam asked

"My leader, and your only hope for stopping the Decepticons," Bumblebee answered, "My people, the Autobots, have been at war with the Decepticons for over two million years. Possibly even longer, depending on how long I was in stasis. The Decepticons despise organic life, and will stop at _nothing_ to destroy this world and drive your species to extinction."

"The humans you've been cozying up with have tried to wipe us out for as long as history can remember," Adam replied, "So that's nothing new."

"The Decepticons might actually _succeed_ though," Bumblebee retorted, "I've seen them do it time and again in the worlds they've successfully conquered. They always start by turning the factions of those worlds against each other, then by the time anyone realizes what's going on, it's too late. The few survivors are lobotomized and kept as pets, while the flora and fauna of the world are replaced with metal and circuits."

"So, basically what humans already do?" Adam asked.

"... Erm… Which part of that were you replying to?" Bumblebee asked.

"Pulling strings from behind the scenes, keeping a handful as pets, the lobotomies," Adam's replied, "Sure, nobody's _legally_ been lobotomized since the Faunus Rights Revolution, but as I learned the hard way, anti-discrimination laws only work when the humans feel like enforcing them. And trust me, they usually _don't_."

"Then let us help you fix that," Bumblebee replied, "I've seen Optimus work miracles. Every time we've defeated the Decepticons, it's been by uniting former enemies against them for the good of all. If we're going to survive, we _need_ to work together!

"So please, I need my homing beacon back! It's no use to you! But the Autobots will have no quarrel with you! We believe that freedom is the right of _all_ sentient beings!"

"Touching, but there's one flaw in your argument," Adam remarked.

"And that is?" Yang asked.

"There is no _us_ ," Adam replied, "Humanity has made that clear time and again that they're not interested in coexistence."

"Yang and I are," Ruby said as she stepped forward, "We wouldn't be here if we weren't. Plus, we can coexist just fine with a giant alien robot who pretended to be a haunted demon bike for two weeks."

"I was _trying_ to keep a low profile," Bumblebee remarked.

"You weren't doing _that_ good a job," Ruby replied, "But that's besides the point. I'm not going to pretend that there aren't horrible people out there who'll do whatever it takes to alienate and put down anyone they perceive as 'different' because they think they can get away with it. Honestly, even if it doesn't compare to how the Faunus are treated, we humans can be pretty awful to each other when we're feeling particularly mean. But I also know that there are plenty of people who want to do good.

"I've grown up hearing stories of people, humans, Faunus, men, women, and everything in between who fought and died in the face of evil just because it was the right thing to do. Bumblebee blew his cover, risking the wrath of the Atlesian Military, just to protect me and Yang from an Ursa Major that got the jump on us. And then he warned us about the Decepticons. I know that you saw what they're capable of, and Yang experienced first hand just how _cruel_ they can be.

"Humans, Faunus, it doesn't matter to them, all they see us as is target practice. They'll stop at nothing to take away everything we've ever fought for! Once they figure out how the Grimm work, they'll drum up all the fear and terror they can and then sit back and watch as our defenses are overrun. And the worst part is that the Grimm won't care about them until we're all dead. We can either stand together or die fighting each other while the Decepticons destroy everything we care about!

"So please! If you really do care about the future of Faunuskind, just give us the homing beacon, so both our races can have a future," Ruby finished.

Adam didn't show any emotion, even as Blake looked contemplative.

"Regardless of what your intentions were when you took my homing beacon, you did technically keep it out of Decepticons' hands," Bumblebee pointed out, "Think about it, you could go down in history as the man who saved Remnant!"

That got Adam's interest.

 _I'm already the hero of the White Fang_ , he thought to himself, _But that would put me in the spotlight, and if that happens too early…_ He glanced over his shoulder at Blake. _I could be denied what I've rightly earned. And those humans!_ The Leader of Vale's White Fang clenched his fist. _I can kiss my war with humanity goodbye if I do this! But if I deny this alliance outright, the Fang will turn on me just as quickly as they turned on that old fool Ghira…_

_Unless…_

" _I need to know if Razorclaw lied to me."_

"Tell me, Autobot," Adam opened, "Does the name 'Razorclaw' mean anything to you?"

Bumblebee tensed as Yang and Ruby looked confused.

"Oh scrap…"

"Adam, what the _Hell_ are you doing?" Blake whispered.

"You'll see…" Adam replied with a smirk.

"Uh… Bee, why're you lookin' so scared?" Yang asked.

"Razorclaw is the Supreme Commander of the Predacon Imperium," Bumblebee explained, "They're Eukarian Beastformers, technorganic Transformers who's beast modes are indistinguishable from organic wildlife."

"What?!" Yang and Ruby shouted.

"Any particular reason you didn't mention them before _now?_ " Yang asked.

"They don't typically invade the same planets as the Decepticons unless one faction asks for the other's help!" Bumblebee answered, "Given that I didn't see any signs of open warfare when I got here, I figured the Decepticons thought they could handle it!"

"Well, would you look at that," Adam remarked, "So sorry to disappoint you, Autobot, but I'm afraid that I can't accept your alliance without going against the High Leader's wishes. In fact, I'm not even sure I can let the enemy of her friend walk out of here alive!"

"Adam, listen to me!" Bumblebee insisted, "As long as the Decepticons are here, your world is in dan-"

" _OPEN FIRE!_ " Adam shouted, and all Hell broke loose.

Bumblebee's mask closed over his face as his body was buffeted with bullets.

"So much for diplomacy," he growled as the Lieutenant revved up his chainsaw, Adam drew _Wilt_ , and Blake stood dumbfounded as her companions charged Bumblebee. Stingers appeared in both of Bumblebee's hands, and he jabbed Adam with his right Stinger and the Lieutenant with his left, solidifying their Auras. He lifted both Faunus off the ground and tossed first Adam and then the Lieutenant into two different tents. That drew the gunfire away from Ruby and Yang as well as snapped Blake out of her stupor as all fire was focused on Bumblebee.

"I got it!" Ruby shouted, before dissolving into a whirlwind of petals and flying towards a trio of gunners. By the time any of them had time to react, the red blur had knocked down the center gunner as it reformed into Ruby, who knocked down the other two gunners as she spun the unfolding _Crescent Rose_ as it switched into Scythe mode. That was the point when the White Fang remembered that the two girls accompanying the giant robot were _also_ armed.

_Ca-click!_

_BOOM!_

Just in time for Yang to launch herself towards another group of gunners. She braved the hail of bullets, and rolled back her fist to deliver a punch…

"Oh no you don't!" Blake shouted as she switched _Gambol Shroud_ to chain-scythe mode and threw the blade at Yang, hooking her right arm.

"Ah grapes…"

_BANG!_

Yang's Aura kept the recoil from ripping off her arm, but she was still pulled off course as the chain scythe flew right back into Blake's hands, where its wielder switched it back into katana mode. Yang threw her arms out behind her.

_BOOM!_

The blond rocketed towards her opponent, threw a punch, and Blake vanished.

"Wha-"

_Click!_

Yang glanced to her right, just in time to see that _Gambol Shroud_ was now in pistol mode, and Blake had her finger on the trigger.

_BANG!_

Yang stumbled across the ground as Blake switched her weapon back to katana mode.

"Not so tough when your enemy actually fights back, are you?" Blake taunted as she pointed her katana at Yang.

"Actually," Yang jumped to her feet and raised her fists, "You'll find that's when I'm at my best."

"Is this a game to you?" Blake asked as she swung her katana at Yang, forcing her to jump, "So many of my brothers and sisters have _died_ fighting the tyranny of your race!" She leaned to the right to dodge a punch and jabbed at Yang's midsection.

"Oh really?" Yang asked as she threw a right hook at Blake, who vanished on impact, "Then why are you siding with the monsters who butchered your friends the other night?"

"I…" Blake paused in her assault, lowering her weapon, "SHUT UP! The only evidence we have of the Predacons working with the Decepticons is your motorcycle saying so!"

"And yet you're going off of his word that they're the enemy," Yang replied, "Honestly, I used to think you guys were just a bunch of misguided yet justifiably angry people. But now…"

_Ca-click!_

"I can see how _little_ you value the Faunus you allegedly protect."

_BOOM!_

Yang propelled herself towards Blake, who slashed at her rather than dodge, knocking Yang into the ground.

"How _dare_ you?" she growled as she switched _Gambol Shroud_ to pistol mode and aimed it at Yang, "Someone like you could _never_ understand what we've been through!"

_BANG!_

Yang winced from the impact of the bullet.

"I was assaulted by an Atlesian Huntsman when I was _five_ for being near a _nonviolent_ protest and would have _died_ if the news cameras hadn't been pointed in my direction at the time!" Blake shouted as Yang jumped to her feet and pushed Gambol Shroud so it was no longer pointed at her.

_BANG!_

"When I was _ten_ , a bunch of Animan humans tried to murder my unarmed father just because our caravan passed within shouting distance of their village!" Blake continued as she pistol-whipped Yang, "The ingrate would've died if Adam hadn't killed the bastard who was charging him!" Yang threw a punch at Blake-

_BOOM!_

-who dodged effortlessly.

"I have struggled my entire life against monsters like you!" Blake continued as Yang whirled around to face her, "Why should I work with you now?"

"What did I ever do to you?" Yang asked.

"You tried to _kill_ me over an _ACCIDENTAL HAIRCUT_!" Blake shouted as she swung _Gambol Shroud_ at Yang, who blocked with her gauntlets.

"... I wouldn't have _actually_ killed you," Yang deflected, "Severely bruised, probably…"

" _YOU PUNCHED ME THROUGH A TREE!_ " Blake snapped as she jabbed her katana at Yang.

"Your boyfriend tried to _decapitate_ me!" Yang shot back as she dodged the katana and threw a punch at Blake's face. Said face dissolved into thin air, and Yang received a roundhouse kick to the back for her troubles.

* * *

Bumblebee sped through the camp in motorcycle mode dodging and weaving between the White Fang gunners.

"Hey Ruby! Where'd you disappear to?" the motorcycle shouted.

_CRACK!_

"Over here!" Ruby called from behind a tent, followed by several more gunshots and the sound of Crescent Rose slicing through air, "Could use a little help!"

"Erm… Maybe we should fall back," one of the seven White Fang grunts facing down Ruby remarked as she lowered her gun, "I… Don't want to fight that robot."

"This is our camp and we need to protect it!" another shouted as he fired a couple more shots at Ruby, who continued to zig-zag out of the way of the bullets.

"I know but… My little brother was one of the Faunus we lost that night," the first replied, "I… Really don't like the idea of working with the monsters that murdered him."

"Get over yourself!" the second one snapped, "Adam knows what he's doing."

"Guys, the robot's here!" River pointed out as Bumblebee rounded the corner and unfolded back into robot mode.

"Yeah… I can see the problem," Bumblebee remarked, "Wait, is anyone keeping an eye out for the Grimm?" River paled.

"Shoot that's my job!" he shouted as he fled the fight.

"Anyone else got any important jobs?" Ruby asked, "I don't want to beat up a chef or a medic!" Five guns clicked as the most reluctant of the Faunus lowered her gun.

"I'll… Go check up on the lieutenant," she said as she dashed away from the group.

"Is that everyone?" Bumblebee asked. Three of the Faunus pointed their guns at Bumblebee while two of them pointed their weapons at Ruby. "Figures." He deployed his Energon Shotguns.

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

All five of them were sent flying by the two blasts as Ruby loaded a Gravity round and pointed _Crescent Rose_ at the ground behind her.

_CRACK!_

Ruby flew towards the White Fang goons, using her Semblance to course-correct to the closest one, bouncing off his chest so she could swat the next one down with the blunt side of _Crescent Rose_ , propelling herself towards the third so she could kick off his head, swatted the fourth out of the way, and then just shot the fifth before landing on her feet, the unconscious fighters hitting the ground with five resounding _THUDS_ as their Auras flickered out.

"Okay, now let's split up and-"

"Actually," Bumblebee interrupted, "I was hoping you could use your Distinction to look for my homing beacon."

"Oh sure!" Ruby replied, "What does it look like?"

"It's a sorta silver disc, but with a screen on one side," Bumblebee replied, "The Autobot insignia should be engraved in the back."

"Got it!" Ruby said as the sound of a chainsaw revving pierced the silence. Ruby glanced over her shoulder at the Lieutenant charging her. "Hold on a moment!"

_CRACK!_

The Gravity Round knocked him off his feet and propelled Ruby into the woods, where she dispelled into a cloud of petals and flew right back into the camp, dashing from tent to tent as Bumblebee took potshots at the White Fang, Adam emerging from the woodwork to chase him down.

* * *

Ruby entered a tent filled with bags, and found nothing but potatoes.

"Not here!'

* * *

"Nope!" Ruby remarked as soon as she was done emptying a chest.

* * *

"Adam why are you calling at this- Wait a second, who the Hell are you?"

"WRONG NUMBER!" Ruby shouted as she shut off the transmitter, causing Sienna Khan's holographic image to flicker out, "Okay, so this _definitely_ isn't the homing beacon."

* * *

"... So… I hear that the sap from the trees outside can make delicious syrup," Ruby remarked with a nervous chuckle as the White Fang's chef stared her down with a butcher's knife, "Also, would any of your lids happen to have a screen on them?" The chef took a swing at Ruby, who dispersed into petals and flew out the tent's entrance.

* * *

"Pretty map," Ruby commented as she stepped into a tent. This one was pretty minimalist. Aside from the map, there was a table with a bunch of documents on it, a few candles, an object that matched the description of Bumblebee's homing beacon in the back corner, a chair, and- Ruby blinked.

"Oh there it is!" she ran over to the metal disk and picked it up, "Kinda strange that he left it unguarded."

"He didn't," a gruff voice remarked. Ruby whirled around, and found herself face to face with Adam Taurus. "I rushed over here as soon as I noticed the rose petals tearing apart my camp," he continued as he stepped into the tent, "Now, let's get down to business."

"Let me guess, put it down gently and you'll let me live?" Ruby remarked.

"Hmmph, you're smarter than you look, human," Adam replied.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure _everyone_ heard Bumblebee shout my name earlier!" Ruby snapped.

"Maybe I don't care," Adam pointed out, "You know, these last couple of days have been a real headache for me!" he put his hand on _Wilt_ 's hilt. "First, the Mantlite bomb heist goes downhill when a freaking motorcycle stops me from beheading that stupid blonde!" He took a step towards Ruby as he started to draw _Wilt_. "Then, that stupid robot survives a hit from Moonslice!" he detached _Blush_ from his hip, putting his finger on the trigger as he walked closer to Ruby. "And the cherry on the top of the disappointment cake is getting knocked out RIGHT when my prize is in my grasp and having to be dragged to safety by my cowardly _bitch_ of a girlfriend!"

"You shouldn't talk about her like that!" Ruby snapped.

"She belongs to _me_! I'll call her _whatever the Hell I want!_ " Adam shouted before swinging his katana at Ruby, forcing the human to jump back. "What's wrong? Too scared to fight back!"

"No, I just don't wanna drop the homing beacon," Ruby replied, "If you'd been a little faster, I'd be wiping the floor with you." Adam scoffed.

"Such _arrogance_ ," he remarked as he pointed _Blush_ at Ruby, "How about this? If you're really such hot shit, then why don't you put that beacon down so we can duel like real warriors? To the victor goes the spoils!"

"Hmm… No _p_ e!" Ruby exclaimed, popping the "p" as she dispersed into petals and dashed out of the tent with the homing beacon, leaving Adam in the dust.

"... Get back here!" Adam shouted as he sheathed _Wilt_ and dashed after the cloud of petals.

* * *

Ruby came to a stop in the center of the camp.

"Okay, so if I follow the gunshots, I should find-"

_BOOM!_

Ruby's thought was interrupted as she noticed her sister, trying, and failing, to land a hit on Blake.

"Sit still!" Yang shouted as she fired another shot at Blake.

"I'd rather not," Blake said as the bullet dissolved her decoy.

"Rrrgh…" Yang threw a punch at Blake, who ducked under her fist, and sliced her blade behind Yang's back. "Did you really think that would-" Blake held up the clump of hair she had sliced off. " _You…_ " Blake smirked as Yang's eyes turned red. "Rrrrrrrr _RAUGH!_ " Yang's hair burst into flames as her growl devolved into a roar.

 _So predictable_.

"STOP MESSING WITH MY HAIR!" Yang threw her arms back-

_BOOM!_

-and propelled herself towards Blake, winding her fist up for a punch, only for her fist to pass through a decoy.

"Wha-"

_BANG!_

The real Blake used the recoil from _Gambol Shroud_ 's pistol to propel herself into Yang's back, causing the blond brawler to hit the ground with a _THUD_ as her Aura flashed from the hit.

"Not so scary now, are you?" Blake asked as sheathed _Gambol Shroud_. Yang tried to push herself up, but a quickly delivered kick to the back of her head from Blake dazed her even through her helmet and Aura. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. We're going to go through your contacts and see if we can't find someone who'll be willing to pay the ransom. If not, we'll take all your valuables and drop you off outside the nearest village. Rest assured that it's all going to a good-" a blob of rose petals slammed into Blake at terminal velocity, interrupting whatever that thought was going to be. As Blake had used up most of her Aura to dodge Yang's flurry of punches while fighting in close quarters, it flickered out as she stumbled across the ground. The Faunus attempted to push herself to her feet as the rose petals reformed into a girl in a ladybug helmet, but passed out and hit the dirt instead.

"Need a hand, sis?" Ruby asked as she offered Yang her hand.

"I totally had her on the ropes," Yang insisted as she took Ruby's hand, and let her sister pull her up. "Where the heck is everyone? I know she wasn't the only Faunus here…"

"I… Actually haven't run into that much trouble since Bumblebee sent me to find this!" Ruby remarked as she held up Bumblebee's homing beacon, "Well, except I did run into-"

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Adam shouted as he charged the two sisters. Ruby switched _Crescent Rose_ to rifle mode as Yang reloaded her shot gauntlets. A yellow G1 Dustfire chose that exact moment to bowl over Adam and transform into robot mode.

"... I uh… Didn't want to draw out the battle any longer than it needed to be," Bumblebee explained as Adam groaned in pain. Yang and Ruby both let out sighs of relief, Ruby switching _Crescent Rose_ back into storage mode so she could attach it to the back of her belt as _Ember Celica_ folded back into bracelet mode on Yang's wrists.

"I found your homing beacon!" Ruby announced, unprompted, as she held up the device in question.

"Excellent!" Bumblebee exclaimed, just in time for another hailstorm of bullets to buffet him, "We should probably leave now!" The hailstorm stopped as Adam struggled to his feet, giving Yang and Ruby the perfect chance to dash over to Bumblebee as he folded back into motorcycle mode. First Yang, then Ruby mounted the motorcycle, the homing beacon pinned between Yang's body and the seat as Ruby held onto her sister for dear life!

"Thanks for your help!" Ruby called out over her shoulder as the three of them sped off into the woods, leaving Adam to simmer in his hate and rage. Not a single one of them noticed the red-eyed raven flying after them.

* * *

"Man, that was way more chaotic than it had any right to be," Yang remarked as the sun began to sink under the horizon. The three of them had come to a stop in a small clearing as soon as they were sure they had shaken their pursuers, Bumblebee had plugged his right index finger into the homing beacon and sat down to download the coordinates and lock onto the Ark's location.

"I wonder why more of them didn't go after us," Ruby questioned, "While we were in the camp, I mean."

"I think we have you to thank for that Ruby," Yang remarked.

"Huh?"

"Think about it, you did give a big speech about uniting against a common enemy, right before Adam ordered them to open fire on a giant robot who wasn't make any moves to antagonize them, and to risk their lives to protect something that's completely useless to them," Yang explained, "Even if they don't like us humans, that doesn't mean that they're just gonna lay down and bow to the biggest bad guys on the block."

"I… Guess that makes sense," Ruby replied.

"And… Done!" Bumblebee announced as he disconnected his homing beacon, "Only one thing left to do now!" He deployed his left Energon blade, impaled the homing beacon, and smashed it against the ground, stomped it into the dirt, and blasted it three times. Soon, nothing was left of the device but a smoldering mess. After stomping the smoldering mess a few times to be sure, Bumblebee shifted back into motorcycle mode. "Now, let's head off to the rendezvous point and take our well-deserved night of rest!"

"Sounds good to me!" Ruby announced.

"You are _still_ gonna be in huge trouble when Dad hears what you did," Yang reminded her as she hopped onto Bumblebee's alt mode.

"... On second thought, why don't we go storm a Mistrali Cartel hideout?" Ruby suggested, "OH! Or maybe we could hunt down an Ursa Major! It could be really educational! Or maybe-"

"Ruby!" Yang interrupted.

"Hmm?"

"Get on the living alien motorcycle."

"Yes sis!" Ruby conceded as she jumped on, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist. The trio sped off, right past a white bird that seemed to leave behind a trail of frost in the air.

_There you are!_

A Glyph formed in midair in front of Bumblebee.

"What the-"

A frosty Beowolf tackled Yang off of Bumblebee, interrupting that train of thought, and taking Ruby with her.

"Yang! Ruby!" Bumblebee shouted, only for more Beowolf facsimiles to emerge from the woodwork.

Ruby groaned, noticed that a living ice sculpture was pinning her sister to the ground, and leapt to her feet. _Crescent Rose_ sliced through the frosty Beowolf facsimile, which swiftly faded.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"These are Winter's!" Yang explained as she pushed herself to her feet, unfolding _Ember Celica_ into weapon mode to stare down the summoned beasts, "I saw her use them on the thugs who harassed me the other day!"

"Then why are they attacking us?" Ruby asked as she slashed through two who lunged at them, "We've done nothing wrong, unless she… Found out about Bumblebee..."

 _BOOM!_ An exploding fireball destroyed one of the Beowolves.

"Well if she thinks Beowolves will be enough to take us down, then she has another thing coming!" Yang shouted as she punched through a Beowolf's chest.

"It doesn't matter! She'll be here with her soldiers soon!" Ruby cut in as she sliced through another Beowolf, "We need to shake her, figure out how she found us, and get to the Ark before it's too late! Bumblebee!"

"I heard ya!" Bumblebee bowled over a few Beowolves and skidded to a halt next to the sisters, " _Hop on!_ "

Bumblebee weaved between the trees, Yang and Ruby clinging on for dear life as Winter's Beowolves lunged from the shadows. Bumblebee swerved to the left, and then the right, trying to shake off Winter's constructs. Eventually, a glyph materialized right in front of Bumblebee, forcing him to make a hard swerve to the right, right onto another Glyph. A barrage of tiny Nevermores burst from the Glyph the second Bumblebee passed over it, sending him and his passengers flying. The Autobot scout quickly shifted into robot mode, catching Yang in his left arm and Ruby in his right, before landing on the ground and skidding to a halt on the edge of a large clearing, the sky now as red as the trees and grass.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Yang remarked.

"I don't think anything was broken," Ruby added. Bumblebee let both girls down, and glanced towards the center of the clearing, where a familiar woman in white sat in a meditative stance.

"You've really made a mess of things, B-127," Winter started as she opened her eyes, "I was sent to this kingdom to maintain order and peace, but not only have you brought chaos and destruction, you've dragged two civilians into your anarchist crimes."

"In what world does letting a bunch of holier-than-thou bullies do whatever the Hell they want count as order?!" Yang shouted.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Winter remarked as she rose to her feet and began to walk towards the trio, "Everything my Kingdom has done has been for the betterment of Remnant as a whole. But with the exception of Mistral, nobody _ever_ thanks us for the sacrifices we make for the betterment of all!"

"Oh, like when you guys tried to _take over the world_ seventy-nine years ago?" Ruby asked.

"It wasn't about _CONQUEST!_ " Winter shouted, "It was about protecting all the world from the Grimm! So what if the King was going about it the wrong way? His heart was in the right place!"

"And the slave labor?" Yang asked. Winter scoffed.

"We gave the Faunus Menagerie, but those ingrates just kept asking for _more!_ " she shouted.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Bumblebee shouted, "What are you even doing here? I thought Ozpin cleared things up with your boss!"

"I think you'll find that we Atlesians are a bit harder to trick than that," Winter replied, "Our ancestors were forced to adapt to the unforgiving cold of Solitas, and made massive technological breakthroughs to survive! We are the best and brightest Remnant has to offer!"

"Can't be that bright if you think you can take Bumblebee on your own," Ruby deadpanned.

"Shouldn't you be at Beacon, Miss Rose?" Winter asked as she came to a stop, "I see that fool Ozpin can't even keep track of a few children." Yang and Ruby unfolded their weapons as Winter grasped the hilt of her saber. "But if you must know-" Two airships, a Dropship and a Bullhead, dropped out of the sky. "-I didn't come alone." The two airships unfolded into titanic robots who used their thrusters to slow their fall before gently landing behind Winter.

"Well B-127, fancy running into you here!" Dropkick opened as Yang's breath hitched and her blood ran cold, " _Did you miss me?_ " Ruby glanced between her sister and the Decepticon, and felt her blood boil as she connected the dots.

"So it was _you_ ," she growled as she walked over to stand in front of Yang, pointing _Crescent Rose_ at Dropkick, "I'll have your _head_ for what you did to her!"

"Oh I'm _so_ scared," Dropkick mocked.

"That's enough Dropkick," Shatter interrupted, "We're not here for the humans." Dropkick crossed his arms and grumbled as Bumblebee deployed his weapons.

"Yang, Ruby," he opened, "You need to get out of here, _now!_ "

"But…"

"I'll catch up to you later!" Bumblebee promised, before turning to face the Decepticons and lowering his battle mask, "Just _GO!_ " Ruby lowered _Crescent Rose_ as Yang lowered her fists, the two of them reluctantly turning to flee back into the woods, only for Winter's false Beowolves to block the way.

"Nobody's going anywhere!" Winter declared as she pulled out her Scroll to display her Huntress License, "Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, you are under arrest for conspiring with an enemy of the Kingdoms! Come quietly or I will use force to bring you in!"

"You're not taking them _anywhere!_ " Bumblebee shouted as he threw his body at Winter. Before the Specialist had time to react, he shifted into motorcycle mode, his back wheel bouncing off of her head before touching the ground and driving between the two Decepticons. Shatter deployed her Energon pistols and opened fire on the motorcycle as Dropkick deployed his buzzsaw.

"You'll regret that," Winter growled as she rose to her feet, rubbed her head, and pocketed her Scroll, all attention focused on the motorcycle weaving left and right to avoid Shatter's Energon barrage. Her rage sent a silent command through her Aura, and her Summoned Beowolves charged right past Ruby and Yang to chase after the Autobot Scout, allowing the girls to disappear past the treeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger. I noticed the sudden shift in the chapter's plot and figured that would be a good place to wrap things up, via pushing the climax back into it's own chapter.
> 
> Ruby and Adam were originally going to have a short battle until Ruby could escape, but then I realized that Ruby could very easily evade him and had no reason to risk her life fighting him. The stuff with Lagune was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and a personal headcanon.
> 
> Next time, I'll be wrapping up this mini-arc that was only ever supposed to be one chapter in... Whatever I decide to title "Part 3".


	11. Chapter 10: The Best Laid Plans: Part 3: Sink in Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is probably the shortest chapter I'll ever write for this. Considering that it was originally going to be the climax of the previous chapter, I suppose that's inevitable though. Seriously, except for the last bit, all of this was going to be part of Chapter 9. And speaking of that last bit.
> 
> TW: If you have any trauma related to psychological and emotional abuse, and want to avoid seeing it or even reading about it, you might want skip to the Author's note once you see the phrase "Over and out". Thank you.

Bumblebee was beginning to question his life-choices as Shatter paused her barrage so Dropkick could swing his buzzsaw at him. The Autobot shifted into robot mode, and the buzzsaw went through the space his alt-mode's back tire had been occupying just seconds prior, kicking up grass and dirt onto Bumblebee. He raised an arm to wipe the dirt off his helmet's visor, only to get lifted off the ground by his left arm.

"Not so fast, B-127!" Dropkick remarked as he held Bumblebee up, "Your Stingers won't save you now!"

"You're right," Bumblebee conceded, "If I Stung you right now, your grip would remain just as tight, and all I'd achieve is-" he shot Dropkick in the face. The Decepticon shouted and threw Bumblebee over his head, allowing him to Sting Shatter as he soared over her shoulder. He landed behind her, and found himself surrounded by Winter's Beowolves. He deployed his Energon blades, hacking and slashing through each one, until Dropkick swerved around in armored car mode and sped straight towards him. Bumblebee jumped on top of the Decepticon, who shifted back into robot mode, forcing the Autobot scout to adjust his footing as Dropkick rose to stand, until he stood atop the Decepticon's shoulders.

"Get off of me!" Dropkick snarled as he reached for Bumblebee's leg. Bumblebee shifted into motorcycle mode, grinding his tire into Dropkick's face, before transforming back into robot mode to kick off of his head.

Shatter, now unfrozen, swung an Energon Blade at Bumblebee, who caught the weapon with his own blades, twisting his body to stand atop it, and fired an Energon blast directly into Shatter's face.

The Decepticon cried out and her flailing hurled Bumblebee into the air, where one of Winter's Glyphs summoned a Manticore, which proceeded to blast the Autobot back towards the ground with a fireball.

_CLANG!_

Bumblebee groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, then broke into a run, before diving forward to shift back into motorcycle mode as he made a mad dash for the treeline.

Dropkick wordlessly chuckled as he shifted his right arm into an Energon canon, pointed it ahead of Bumblebee, and vented Rock Dust into the barrel of his canon.

_BOOM!_

The Dust-infused Energon blast soared over Bumblebee and tore through the trees he was driving towards, causing rocky spires to jut out of the ground. Bumblebee engaged his brakes, tires grinding against the dirt, before shifting back into robot mode and digging his fingers into the dirt in order to slow himself down and avoid a collision with the jagged rocks in his path. He skidded to a halt right under one of rock spikes.

"Oh thank the Hand," Bumblebee muttered as he tried to pull himself back out before the Decepticons reached him, only for a frosty Ursa facsimile to jump down from the newborn rock-formation and onto his back, and several Summoning Glyphs to form around his prone form, several Beowolves climbing out to restrain his limbs, frosty claws scratching at his battle-mask to try and pry it off.

Shatter and Dropkick both chuckled as Winter stepped forward, all three oblivious to the black and red shape in the trees moving into position.

"Face it, B-127," Winter said as the red and black figure pointed a sniper-rifle right at her, "You never stood a chance."

" _We need to call Professor Ozpin and let him know what happened!" Ruby started as she took out her Scroll._

" _... Are you sure we can trust him?" Yang asked._

" _What do you mean?" Ruby questioned._

" _Think about it, Winter knew both that we were going to be in Forever Fall_ and _that you were supposed to be back at Beacon," Yang explained, "The only way she could know any of that is if someone in the know tipped her off."_

" _So, what, Professor Ozpin just sold us out to the Atlesian Military?" Ruby asked, "Why? What would he have to gain from it?"_

" _I don't know," Yang replied._

" _Maybe I should call Professor Goodwitch instead," Ruby suggested._

" _And risk her being an accomplice?" Yang pressed._

" _Well then what do you suggest we do?" Ruby asked as she threw her hands in the air._

" _We go back and help Bumblebee, what else?" Yang answered as she turned to walk towards the battle._

" _Okay, and you're sure you won't freeze up the second Dropkick notices you?" Ruby asked, causing her sister to pause, "I saw how you looked at him, Yang. I don't think either of us are ready to fight a Decepticon yet."_

" _He can't take all three of them on his own!" Yang argued._

" _But he might be able to get away," Ruby pointed out, "This part of the forest is too dense for the Decepticons to move around easily in vehicle mode, so we could use the trees as cover!"_

" _Okay, but how do we deal with Winter?" Yang asked, "Don't forget, she was able to corral us into the clearing with her Semblance!"_

" _Yes… But her Beowolves ran right past us after Bumblebee had her attention," Ruby replied, "Why is that?"_

" _... She can't multitask…" Yang realized._

_CRACK!_

"Augh!" Winter cried out as a flaming bullet struck her shoulder. She glanced behind her, where Ruby Rose jumped down from her perch in the tree and unfolded _Crescent Rose_ into scythe form.

"Hiya!" she greeted.

Winter roared with rage as she drew her saber and charged, her Summons ditching Bumblebee to chase after her, allowing the Autobot to shift back into motorcycle mode and race out of the way of Shatter's grasp.

"Damn it!" the Decepticon leapt into the air and folded into an Atlesian Dropship, opening suppressing fire to corral Bumblebee away from the treeline. "Dropkick!"

"I'm on it!" Dropkick announced, before firing a Fire-infused Energon blast that set the treeline to the right of the rock formation ablaze, "Though maybe lightning would be more appropriate…"

Ruby, meanwhile, dispersed into petals and flew right past Winter, switching back to normal to hack and slash through the Specialist's Beowolves, frost-like heads, arms, legs, and torsos sent flying through the air as the dying facsimiles dissolved into nothing, until Winter's Ursa swatted her out of the air. Ruby stumbled across the ground, and ducked out of the way as Winter swung her saber at her.

"Treacherous little _BRAT!_ " the Atlesian Specialist shouted as she swung her saber at Ruby, forcing her to jump back again, "When will you admit that you were outsmarted?" She made another swing at Ruby, who jumped back, only to get caught in the Ursa's grasp. "You see, there's no way a combat-school student could outsmart Atlas' best and brightest!" Winter boasted, oblivious to the fireballs flying right at her.

" _If we take turns fighting her, we can gradually wear down her Aura while she's distracted," Ruby remarked._

" _And once it's broken, those frostsimiles her Semblance creates won't be able to hunt us down, and all three of us will be able to escape into the forest!" Yang finished._

" _I'm faster, so I'll go first!" Ruby stated, choosing to ignore the pun, "When it looks like she has me on the ropes, create a distraction!"_

_BOOM!_

Winter was knocked off her feet.

_BOOM!_

The second explosion impacted her back and sent her stumbling across the ground. The false Ursa spotted the perpetrator, a blond-bruiser.

"Hel _lo_!~" Yang greeted in a sing-song voice.

The Ursa growled, tossed Ruby aside, and barreled towards her at top speed.

Yang smirked-

_Ca-click!_

_BOOM!_

-and rocketed towards the Ursa.

The Ursa took a swipe at her as Yang threw a punch.

_BOOM!_

The Ursa roared as the explosive round from _Ember Celica_ tore off its arm, leaving it open for Yang to deliver an uppercut to its chin, exploding its head.

"Damn, I'm good," Yang remarked with a smirk, only to notice Winter charging straight at her with bloodshot, murderous rage in her eyes, " _Grapes!_ " She duked to t to put some distance between them, and threw her arms back behind her-

_BOOM!_

-then rocketed forwards to fire and deliver a flurry of explosive punches at Winter, forcing the specialist on the defensive as she backpedaled further and further, her surviving Manticore taking aim at Yang as it charged its attack.

_FWOOM!_

The blue fireball impacted Yang's right side, sending her tumbling away from Winter.

"So that's how you want to play this game…" Yang growled as she pushed herself to her feet, Winter smirking at her.

"There's only one way this 'game' can end, Miss Xiao Long," Winter replied as she pointed her saber at Yang, the Manticore charging another attack, "I suggest you surrender while you still can."

"... to heck with that!" Yang announced as she threw her arms back.

_BOOM!_

The combat student flew right over Winter's head and at the Manticore as her eyes turned red and her hair was engulfed in a golden blaze. She threw her fist into the Manticore's mouth, launching an explosive round into the attack it was charging.

_**KRABOOM!** _

The Manticore went out explosively, sending Yang tumbling across the ground.

"You're a persistent little brat, I'll give you that," Winter growled as she approached Yang oblivious to the red and black blur approaching her, "But persistence can only get you so far!"

" _I'll tag back in when it looks like you need help," Ruby continued, "Rinse and repeat until Winter runs out of Aura. Sound like a plan?"_

" _Sounds good to me!"_

" _Then let's do this!"_

Ruby hooked Winter's feet on _Crescent Rose_ 's blade, tripping up the specialist as she dashed past her.

"Forgetting someone?" Ruby taunted as Yang dashed pushed herself up and dashed for the treeline. Winter snarled and dashed for Ruby, thrusting her saber forwards. Ruby jumped back, spinning _Crescent Rose_ to deflect the jab away from her neck, and struck Winter's head with the blunt side of her weapon as she ducked behind the specialist. Winter whirled around, to find herself staring down the sniper-scythe's barrel.

_CRACK!_

The specialist stumbled back, then fixed a glare at the girl as her Aura healed the bruise the bullet left. Ruby smirked, prompting Winter to surge forward with a roar, jabbing her saber at the girl's face. Ruby leaned her head to the side, causing the saber to graze her cheek and cut through the strap of her helmet. Winter smirked and conjured a glyph behind Ruby. The girl's back collided with the gift, allowing Winter to whirl around behind the Glyph. With a wave of her arm, a flock of tiny Nevermores were sent out of the Glyph.

"Ai _yee!_ " Ruby shrieked as the Nevermores pushed her towards the battling giants. The flock dissolved, allowing Ruby to jab _Crescent Rose_ 's blade into the ground to slow her fall, only to notice a shadow passing over her. "Eep!" She dispersed into petals and dashed away, her helmet dropping off her head to get crushed underfoot by Dropkick, who kept charging at Bumblebee, oblivious to the human he had almost crushed underfoot. Ruby reformed next to Winter and swung _Crescent Rose's_ blunt side at her saber. Winter caught the blade, and separated a second, smaller saber from it to swing at Ruby as Bumblebee took an Energon blast to the shoulder behind them. Ruby yelped and jumped back, just in time to get hit with another Nevermore flock.

"I'm General Ironwood's second in command for a reason, kid!" Winter shouted as Ruby hit the ground, "It's going to take more than a couple of cheap shots to-"

_Ca-click!_

_BOOM!_

Yang soared through the air at Winter, who whirled around to swat Yang out of the air, allowing Ruby to flee into the woods. Yang skidded back, then punched a couple of explosive rounds at Winter, who jumped to the right and let them whiz past her.

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Winter dashed towards Yang, swinging the saber in her left hand at her, forcing her younger opponent to jump back, before following up with a jab from her right. Yang's Aura flashed as it strained to keep the blade from piercing her flesh. The blond brawler stumbled back, growled, and activated her Semblance.

_Ca-click!_

She threw her arms back.

_BOOM!_

Yang rocketed forwards, only for something to grab her right arm.

"Wha-" the Beringel that Winter summoned hoisted Yang into the air over its head, and slammed her into the ground. Before she had time to reorient herself, the Beringel peeled her off the ground and slammed her down again. And again. And again.

"Like I said, it's going to take more than a couple of cheap shots to-"

_CRACK!_

A bullet whizzed past Winter's head and struck the ground a few feet in front of her. Winter whirled around to face Ruby as she dropped from the treeline, and was about to have her Beringel drop Yang to fight her, when suddenly-

"Wait a second…" she commented as a swipe from Shatter stopped Bumblebee from taking a shot at the Beringel, "You're smarter than you look…" The Atlesian specialist smirked, and dashed behind her Beringel, putting the gorilla-like monster between herself and the red-caped girl, Yang's arm still in the Beringel's fist. "I'll admit, you almost had me," Winter opened as Dropkick stepped between Bumblebee and the humans, "But the charade ends here."

"Dang it…" Yang groaned.

"It was worth a shot," Ruby commented, as she switched _Crescent Rose_ into Scythe mode, before dispersing into petals and charging the Grimm-like construct. The Grimm lifted Yang above its head-

_WHAM!_

-and swatted Ruby to the ground, forcing her back into material form.

_WHAM!_

Then struck Ruby again.

_WHAM!_

And again.

_WHAM!_

And one final time, before lifting Yang off the ground.

"Now, once B-127 has been properly detained, I can deliver you two to your father, bruised, but otherwise unharmed," Winter remarked, oblivious to the girl on the other side of the Beringel pushing herself to her feet and picking up _Crescent Rose_ , "Honestly, he should be thankful. A good beating does wonders for discipline." Winter's expression darkened. "I learned _that_ first hand."

_CRACK!_

Ruby propelled herself into the air, hooked _Crescent Rose_ 's blade on the Beringel's neck, and pulled the trigger.

"Wha-"

_CRACK!_

The recoil pushed Crescent Rose's blade through the Summon's neck, causing it's flailing body to toss Yang over its shoulder as it faded.

_Thud!_

Ruby landed on her feet, between the fading Summon and an astounded Winter, her Aura flickering out from absorbing the shock from the landing.

_Thud!_

Yang hit the ground behind Winter, her own Aura flickering out as she laid on the ground. Winter glanced over her shoulder at Yang's bruised body, then back at the sniper who was in considerably better shape, before smirking and turning to approach Yang.

"Leave her _alone!_ " Ruby shouted as she charged at Winter, pulling _Crescent Rose_ behind her. Her feet carried her closer and closer to the Specialist, her mind so focused on stopping Winter from hurting Yang that she didn't question why she had stopped walking. As such, she was caught completely off guard when Winter whirled around and slashed her left saber across her completely unprotected face.

" _GYAAUGH!"_

Yang's eyes shot open the second she heard the shriek. She pushed herself to her feet as Ruby dropped _Crescent Rose_ to shield her damaged face, blood dripping from one of Winter's sabers.

"Oh relax, I was careful not to hit anything important," Winter remarked, before striking the back of Ruby's unprotected head with the hilt of her bloody saber, "Now, whenever you look in the mirror, you'll remember what happens when you break the law." All reason left Yang as she watched her baby sister's unconscious body crumple to the ground. All rational thought dissolved. She couldn't hear Bumblebee's battle. She couldn't see the massive battle.

Every last fiber of her being was focused on one thing: Making the _creature_ who hurt Ruby _pay_.

" _I'LL KILL YOU!"_ Yang screamed as she charged Winter, eyes red. When she was just a few feet away, she jumped into the air, rolled back for a punch, and let gravity and her own momentum carry her towards the Specialist, who whirled around-

_**SCHLING!** _

-and gasped in shock when her mind caught off with her body and she saw the teenage girl impaled on her right saber.

"Nonononononononono…" Winter's blood ran cold as she dropped both of her sabers, letting Yang's unconscious body drop to the ground, her saber piercing the girl's body just above her waist, "I didn't… I didn't mean to… This wasn't supposed to…" A pit formed in Winter's stomach as the gravity of what she had just done hit her like a freight train. " _Oh gods…_ " She was so caught up in her horror and guilt, that she failed to notice the yellow motorcycle speeding away from the Decepticons and right towards her.

" _MURDERER!"_ the motorcycle roared as he shifted into robot mode and deployed an Energon blade. Winter cried out as the Autobot swung his Energon blade at her, knocking her to the ground. She tried to push herself back to her feet, only for a metal hand to yank her off the ground. "Wretched piece of _trash!_ " The Autobot formed a Stinger in his left hand, then slammed Winter into it, face first, solidifying her Aura. "Take this you _worthless spawn of Unicron!_ " The Autobot threw Winter at the treeline and deployed his Energon shotguns from his wrists.

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

Winter was blasted through the nearest tree, and came to a stop on the second. She dropped to the ground the second the Autobot ceased his attack, and coughed in pain as her Aura gave out.

"Showing you mercy is not a mistake I'll make a second time!" the Autobot snarled as he walked towards Winter, "I should have done this when we first meAUGH!" The Autobots body sputtered and smoked as he was hit by an electric attack, his Aura flickering out before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Stupid Autobot," Dropkick remarked as he shifted his still-smoking Energon canon back into his forearm as the sun sank under the horizon, castingthe sky into darkness.

"Excellent work, Specialist Schnee," Shatter congratulated the Specialist, "Now, let's call in your troops so we can apprehend these renegades." Winter struggled to her feet, stepped past the Autobot's unconscious form, and stared wordlessly at the two unconscious girls. With a sigh, she took her Scroll out of her pocket and called her base.

"This is Special Operative Winter Schnee," she opened, "B-127 has been captured, however, two civilians were critically injured in the battle. Send medical assistance ASAP. Over and out."

* * *

Blake marched through the camp as masked Faunus repaired the various tents. She tried to push down her embarrassment at having gone down in one hit to a child, before finally coming to the "meeting" tent, and pushing the flap aside to enter.

"Adam, I have news regarding…" she paused as she noticed the three humans kneeling before him. "What's going on here?"

"I was just telling these humans why I'm not about to risk our men for their human cause," Adam answered her, before turning his attention to the tallest one, who was closest to him, "Go tell whoever sent you here that we are not just a band of thugs who'll put blind vengeance before the cause, before I change my mind about sparing your lives."

"Suit yourself," the tall woman kneeling before Adam said as she rose to her feet before she turned away from him, revealing her pale face and golden eyes to Blake, "We could have made a great team." She walked past the two other humans, who rose to their feet and walked after her, the apparent leader of the three shooting a glance at Blake that made the young-Faunus' blood run cold, before marching on out with her two underlings.

"Now, Darling," Adam opened, "I trust that you were able to hijack the Atlesian's Scroll frequencies and listen in on their chatter with the passwords we found in the papers you brought to me the other night?"

"Yes, and I have good news," Blake answered, "Just last evening, shortly after he ransacked our camp, that alien robot was apprehended by the Atlesians. Specialist Schnee will be withdrawing to Atlas as soon as she's done packing up, and has called all of her soldiers back to base. Meaning that if we hurry, we can still take the cargo from that SDC train before-"

"No," Adam interrupted.

Blake blinked.

"I'm sorry… What?"

"I'm cancelling the train heist," Adam stated.

"But… We've been planning that for months!" Blake objected, "We need to disrupt the SDC's Dust Exports if we want to put them out of business. As long as the SDC is in business, innocent Faunus will continue to suf-"

" _Do NOT lecture me, Belladonna!"_ Adam shouted as he tore off his mask, "Remember, I suffered that cruelty first hand! And your useless father stopped at nothing to stop us from giving humanity what they deserve! And I promise you, we _will_ make the SDC pay!"

"Adam I know that, but…" Blake struggled to keep eye-contact, reflexively looking everywhere except directly at his face.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Adam screamed as he grabbed ahold of Blake's chin and twisted her head around to look him right in the eye. "Now, gather the troops, we're going to head to the Atlesian's base, and bring the building down on all those rotten humans who sent our brothers and sisters to die in the mines, and that wretched machine that thought it could make a fool of us!"

"B-but…"

"But what?" Adam asked in a sickenly sweet voice as he caressed Blake's cheek, "I should just let the Schnee who tried to have Ilia sent to the mines walk free? Ignore the robot that sided with the human who punched you through a tree? I only want to protect you, my love." He put a hand on the back of her head and yanked her into a kiss, wrapping his other arm around her waist to keep her from pushing away. "And those humans and machines are a threat to your safety." He put his mask back on. "I'll rally the troops. We need to get there by dawn." Adam walked right past Blake, who starred wordlessly into space.

"This feels…" she closed her eyes, and swallowed the last word.

_Wrong…_

_**But you have nowhere else to go, Darling.** _

Blake fell to her knees and sobbed, wishing very much for the parents she had left behind to tell her everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the overall action scene, but the fight with Winter is something I've been looking forward to writing for MONTHS now. Especially that bit at the end where Winter accidentally stabs Yang. My one regret is that the Transformers kinda fade into the background. There was originally going to be more content focused on Ruby and Yang getting launched at the Decepticons, with Ruby baiting Winter's Nevemores into swarming Dropkick's face before bouncing off the rock-fixture Dropkick made to stop Bumblebee from fleeing, but I wasn't able to naturally work it in and it felt more like pointless fluff.
> 
> Also, some proof that the people of Remnant aren't COMPLETELY helpless: Winter was the biggest threat in that fight involving multiple giant robots, thanks entirely to her Summons. I mean, she still technically lost in the end, but only because Ruby and Yang were able to give Bumblebee breathing room.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and next time, we see more than one kind of patch...


	12. Chapter 11: Patch-127

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... This was a bit of a hassle. You have no idea how much I decided to cut. Regardless, this is a chapter I've been looking forward to writing for ages. Also, ssj-Sega has been editing the TV Tropes page all on his own, and could REALLY use some help there.

Winter dried off her hands for the third time that night, before stepping into her office and pressing a number of buttons on her desk.

"General Ironwood, I'm calling to give my status report on the mission," Winter announced.

" _Proceed,"_ Ironwood said through the holographic screen.

"With help from the Decepticon security agents known as Shatter and Dropkick, I was able to track down and apprehend B-127 in the Forever Fall Forest," Winter opened, "He was encountered with two human accomplices. Though I sustained injuries during the battle, the three of us were able to subdue B-127 and his two accomplices."

" _That's excellent news!"_ Ironwood replied, " _So what's bothering you?"_ Winter sighed.

"During the battle, I… Attacked both of B-127's accomplices after they had run out of Aura," Winter explained, "The younger of the two, a girl named 'Ruby Rose', recovered quickly once her Aura returned to her. But the elder of the two…" Winter pinched the bridge of her nose. "I… Failed to keep my reflexes in check, and ran Ms. Xiao Long through with my saber when she startled me. As she was already out of Aura, she quickly lost consciousness, and my paramedics had to transport her while also keeping the blade from causing any more internal damage than it already had." Winter made eye-contact with the General. "My carelessness almost cost her her life."

" _She's the one who was aiding a fugitive,"_ General Ironwood reminded her, " _What did you do with them?"_

"After the surgeons safely removed my saber from Ms. Xiao Long's body, we sent them back home with the understanding that the children had been abducted and I had rescued them," Winter answered, "I already made it clear that nobody would believe them if they tried to refute the story."

" _I suppose that's the best you could do outside our borders,"_ General Ironwood replied, " _Winter, I understand that harming a child can be distressing, but look at it like this: Now Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long know what could happen if they recklessly break the law, and they're less likely to try again in the future. Some may call it cruel, but I'd say that you did those kids a favor."_

"Sir, I almost _killed_ one of them," Winter replied.

" _Legally speaking, you were defending yourself,"_ General Ironwood replied, " _Look, regardless of how you feel, what's done is done, and you can't change the past. Now, what of the Autobot?"_

"He's currently chained up in the hangar while the Decepticons set up something they call a 'Cortical Psychic Patch'," Winter answered, "It can apparently be used to manually access the data in his processor through force."

" _... Is there any chance it could be used on an organic lifeform?"_ General Ironwood asked, " _Because that could make tracking down the White Fang's HQ trivial!"_

"I already asked, and the answer is 'no'," Winter explained, "It apparently exploits a quirk in their 'biology' to link up two Transformers' nervous systems, rendering both users comatose for the duration of the link. Which means that the Cortical Psychic Patch needs to be connected to a display of sorts so an outside observer can break the link once the necessary intel has been extracted."

" _I see…"_

"I also connected the Cortical Psychic Patch to the base's surveillance system," Winter revealed, "That way, we can keep tabs on our 'friends' and make sure that we know what to expect from both the Decepticons _and_ their enemies."

" _Good idea,"_ Ironwood replied, " _And what of your other assignment?"_

"... I've learned a lot about Cybertron's culture and history," Winter replied, "But so far, all I know about their tech and biology is what I've already told you." She sighed. "Sir, they… Unnerve me…"

" _We don't need to make friends with them,"_ Ironwood replied, " _While ideally, I'd like them to view us as valuable allies, I'll settle for appeasing the alien armada and giving them a reason not to go to war with us, which Ozpin's handling of the situation would have no doubt kicked off."_ He rose from his chair. " _Remember Winter, this isn't some fairy tale with clear cut heroes and villains, this is the real world! And I refuse to leave the fate of this world in the hands of idealistic cowards who don't have the nerve to do what needs to be done. Emotions topple strategy, Winter. Do not forget that. Ironwood out."_ Winter sighed as the projection faded.

"This is what you signed up for, Winter," she told herself, "You need to face this storm so she will never have to." She rose from her seat, and marched out of her office to begin the interrogation.

Winter did her best to ignore the harsh glare B-127 shot her as she stepped out onto the catwalk to survey the set-up in the hangar. Shatter and Dropkick stood before B-127, the Autobot's arms were tied together by a thick, metal chain that dangled from the rafters, keeping him a couple of feet off the ground. One end of the cortical psychic patch was connected to the back of his head, the cord winding down to a large holo-screen projector that Shatter had crudely connected the "patch" to, with the rest of the cord curled up on the floor next to it.

"I'll be honest, I didn't peg you as the type to attack Protoforms," the Autobot growled.

"The children you tried to drag into this war are _fine_ ," Winter replied, refusing to meet his glare.

"Who exactly are you trying to fool?" B-127 asked.

"Specialist Schnee, the set up is complete," Shatter explained, "If there's nothing urgent you need to do, we can begin immediately."

"There's nothing too urgent…" Winter replied, "I just… There's this one question that's been bothering me."

"Oh?" Shatter replied, "Well, we've been answering your questions all day. So long as it doesn't involve any sensitive information we need to keep out of the Autobots' hands, I'll be more than happy to answer." Winter took a deep breath.

"Why do you call yourselves 'Decepticons'?" she asked. The Autobot chuckled.

"Because Megatron thinks he _real_ clever for conning a bunch of bots into thinking he actually gave a flying frag about their wel-"

_CLANG!_

"She wasn't asking you, traitor!" Dropkick shouted as the Autobot's Aura gave out from both the punch and the beating he had received after waking up.

 _Or would "rebooting" be the proper term?_ Winter wandered, trying to think of the Autobot as anything _but_ a person.

"But to answer your question," Shatter opened, "It was originally an insult, used by our enemies to discredit us. But if telling the truth is 'deception' then it is a vice we will proudly indulge in."

"I see…" Winter replied, "But, wait, what did you call yourself before taking that name as your own?"

"Ascenticons…" the Autobot forced out, "Because we were going to ascend by rising up agai-"

"I said QUIET!'

Winter closed her eyes-

_CLANG!_

-but still winced when she heard the impact.

"Now, we should probably begin the procedure," Shatter replied as she sat down in a meditative stance, "Don't you have a deadline to meet?"

"Oh! Right…" Winter replied.  
"Getting ready to patch you in-" Dropkick remarked as he picked up the end of the cord that wasn't plugged into the back of the Autobot's head, "Now, what do you say we get this party started?"

"Just… Patch me in already," Shatter groaned.

"As soon as our guest steps out," Dropkick replied.

"But-"

"Come now Winter, we only met today, and some… 'Sensitive' information could be revealed here," Shatter replied.

"I… I understand," Winter replied, "Good luck." As soon as Winter was out of the room, Dropkick plugged the device into the back of Shatter's head, and the Cortical Psychic Patch lit up. The half connected to Shatter emitted a yellow glow, as the half connected to B-127 emitted a blue one.

* * *

_Bumblebee cried out as he plummeted into the darkness, before coming to a sudden halt. He tried to hold a hand up to his head, only to realize that he didn't appear to have a hand. Or a head. Or a body, for that matter. It was almost as if his body had evaporated, leaving his Spark behind in an empty void._

" _What did they do to me?" he asked, noticing that he could just barely make out familiar silhouettes in the darkness. Be it Iacon's skyline, the treeline in Patch, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Apha Trion, Yang, Wasp, Sideways, "Thunderwing", Jetfire, Wreckage, Elita-1, Devestator, Impactor, Ruby, Taiyang, the Ursa Major, Starscream, Cybertron and its four moons, Jhiaxus, Tarantulus, Shockwave, Lio Convoy, and various other friends and enemies from other the years, both living and dead._

" _ **Oh good, the procedure worked properly!"**_

" _Shatter! Where are you?" Bumblebee snarled._

_The Decepticon merely cackled as the feint silhouettes melted and merged together, shifting into a singular shape._

" _ **I'm in your processor, B-127,"**_ _Shatter's voice replied, as her yellow optics opened on the silhouette of her face, somehow failing to light the darkness,_ " _ **Everything you think, every lesson you've experienced, every thought that crosses your mind, every last bit of data that makes you B-127, is nothing more than another brick in the road that leads to the Ark."**_ _Bumblebee smirked._

" _Well, good thing I'm not B-127." And the darkness shifted and flickered._

* * *

"Looks like everything is working as intended," Winter remarked as she sat at her desk, the memory playback beginning before her eyes, "Let's see if we can't get some context…"

* * *

Mirage will never, ever, let me live this down, _B-127 realized as the young female blond from the previous day stepped into the garage._

" _Okay, time to check the air pressure on your tires!" Yang remarked as she walked over to the workbench, "Gotta keep you in tip-top shape when I show you off to my friends."_

Oh forget Mirage, _Jetfire's_ never gonna let me live this down either! _B-127 thought as the human checked his tires with an instrument,_ Seriously, leave this work to a medic!

" _Hmm… You could probably use a bit more air…" Yang remarked._

Gee, thanks for noticing! _B-127 thought,_ If you hadn't kidnapped me, I could've had Ratchet and Fixit perform this check-up instead of letting a protoform play doctor!

" _Alright, better make sure I don't fill these tires up with too much air," Yang commented as she hooked up an air pump to the back tire, "The last thing I need is to pop one of these babies! … I don't think Zippy's spare tire will fit this."_

This is it, this is how I die _, B-127 thought as the human started pumping,_ Where Megatron, Razorclaw, the Quintessons, Lockdown, the DJD, and the fragging _Chaos Bringer himself_ tried, this one random protoform will blow my tires out while playing back-alley doctor! Just my luck!

" _And… Stop!" Yang disconnected the pump and moved on to the back tire, "My friends are gonna be so jealous when they see you!"_

I'd rather not be seen at all, _B-127 thought._

" _And now that your tires aren't in danger of deflating, I can arrange a meeting!" the girl giggled, "I can see it now: Yang Xiao Long and her Burning Bumblebee on the road, traveling from village to village to battle bandits and the Creatures of Grimm! It'll be_ amazing!"

… The Pit's a 'bumblebee'? _B-127 thought._

" _Oh just you wait and see, Bee, we're going to make an amazing team!"_

… How do you know my nickname? _B-127 wanted to ask,_ Is this one an agent of the Quintessons, has my cover been blown?

" _Time to hit the road!" Yang stated as she put on her helmet, "I've got places to go and we're burning daylight!"_

* * *

" _That's strange," Yang commented as she stepped out of the building she'd called "Signal" that morning, Taiyang and Ruby climbing into another vehicle, "I could've sworn I had parked closer to the door…"_

If it hadn't been for all the open windows, I would've made more distance, _B-127 thought bitterly,_ And what was with all those explosions anyway anyway?

" _Maybe I'm going crazy," Yang mused to herself as she put on her helmet and mounted the alien robot motorcycle, "I mean, it's not like Bumblebee can stand up and walk!"_

Oh how easily I could blow your mind, little one, _B-127 thought,_ But alas, I have to hide from those "Atlesian Military" nutcases. So I can't afford to blow my cover for anything!

* * *

_B-127 groaned as he shifted back into robot mode._

_"Okay, Projected Spark Field's still up, but I don't think I can maintain cover and save that kid at the same time," he remarked, "Still, I'll be quicker in vehicle-"_

_"RUBY!" Yang shouted._

_"Better not cause a panic," he muttered as he shifted back into vehicle mode. Yang burst from the trees, eyes still blue with worry._

_"Ruby!" she noticed the path of fallen trees and discarded bullet casings, "Oh God…" She immediately dashed through the foliage._

_"Yang! Augh…" Taiyang winced, supporting himself on the standing trees as he limped for his car, "Oh God why… Please don't take my daughters from me, I already lost Summer, I can't afford to lose either of them too" He was caught off guard when he heard Bumblebee's engines revving._

_"What the…" He watched, dumbfounded, as his daughter's motorcycle retracted its kickstand and sped off into the woods without a rider._

* * *

_B-127 mentally cursed as he weaved between the trees, following the trail of munition shells._

_"Okay, the gunfire just got quiet, but judging by the screams, it's probably not because the monster's dead," he muttered to himself, "Hopefully I'm not too late…" He spotted the Grimm towering over two motionless forms. Without another word, he whirled around, drove up a downed tree like a ramp, and flew straight through the air towards the Grimm. He collided with the creature's head._

" _Yang," Ruby remarked as B-127 landed a couple of feet away from them, "Is that…"_

_"I'm just as lost as you-" whatever Yang was about to say was cut off when the panels on her Bumblebee loosened, and soon the entire motorcycle unfolded into a more humanoid form. The wheels were now in the robot's lower legs, the front of the motorcycle had become the chest, and the backpanels with the red-orange-yellow gradients were now shield-like plates on the robot's forearms. "Bumblebee?"_

_"It's as good a name as any," B-127 replied, shocking Yang and Ruby further. It, or rather he turned to face the two, a comforting smile on his surprisingly human (if not metallic) face. "Mind if I tag in?"_

* * *

"So that's why they trusted him…" Winter mused as the memory playback ended.

* * *

" _ **Do not waste my time, B-127!"**_ _Shatter's voice growled._

" _Or else what?" Bumblebee taunted, "In case you've forgotten, I have nothing left to lose!"_

" _ **Don't think that I won't break you, Autobot!"**_ _Shatter insisted, the shadows shifting to instead depict Bumblebee's body getting pulled apart, piece by piece,_ " _ **Everyone has their breaking point! And I will find yours! Now, show me to the Ark!"**_

_And again, the shadows shifted._

* * *

" _Seriously! We're abandoning Cybertron?" Sideways shouted as the tremor died down._

" _We do not have a choice," Optimus replied as he stared out the window, refusing to meet Sideways' gaze, "Whatever Megatron did with the Omega Lock and his 'Matrix of Chaos' is altering the planet."_

" _Well, why not just use the Matrix to heal it?" Sideways asked._

" _I… Already tried," Optimus answered, "But Cybertron… Isn't responding to the Matrix anymore." The tremors began anew, and another building crumbled as B-127 and Sideways exchanged a glance._

" _You don't mean.." B-127's voice trailed off._

" _While it's too early to say, I believe that Megatron may have used the Omega Lock to key Cybertron to his Matrix, and has already begun to reshape the planet to his liking," Optimus explained, before turning to face the two Autobots, "I've… Declared Martial Law and ordered Omega Supreme and Iaconus to begin evacuations. Carcer and Lodestar have volunteered to lend whatever aid they can as well, and I'll be asking Lio Convoy if he can send Chela and Gaea to help with the stragglers. We already have bases on all four of Cybertron's moons, and good political standing with Velocitron, Eukarys, Caminus, and Carcer. We can evacuate the civilian populations to their territories, and form a new plan for the future. We cannot hope to stop Megatron while he's still reformatting our planet."_

" _You mean… You're just giving up?" Sideways asked._

" _Once Megatron is done reshaping Cybertron, we can-"_

" _Once he's done, it'll be too late!" Sideways interrupted, "We need to track down that fragger and slag him while we have the chance!"_

" _All of our troops are busy evacuating the civilians," Optimus replied, "We don't have the botpower to do both!"_

" _Then call off the evacuation and go for a full-on assault on the Decepticon headquarters!'_

" _If I do that, the civilians we're sworn to protect will die," Optimus explained._

" _Then let them die!"_ _Sideways shouted, "In war, you have to make sacrifices!"_

" _... It is the soldier's job to fight and die so civilians don't have to," Optimus replied, "The second we start sacrificing civilian lives, is the second we become no better than the Decepticons."_

" _Then maybe it's time to stop trying to prove a point and start doing what we need to to survive!" Sideways insisted, "It's how the Decepticons have bea-"_

 _ **"** **WE ARE NOT THE DECEPTICONS!"**_ _Optimus shouted as he slammed his fist into his desk._

_Sideways shrank back as B-127 jumped. Optimus took a second to steady himself, before standing up straight and folding his hands behind his back._

" _Is… Is there anything I can do, sir?" B-127 asked._

" _... Wildwheel is helping Wheeljack and Jetfire pack up their lab equipment," Optimus explained, "You should be fast enough to make it there, and provide both an extra pair of hands, and some much-needed security."_

" _Understood sir!" B-127 replied, before folding into motorcycle mode and driving away._

* * *

" _Thanks for the hand, B," Wildwheel remarked as he and B-127 loaded the last few crates into Jetfire's alt-mode, "Hey Jackie, was that the last of it?"_

" _That was all that needed to be transported by air!" Wheeljack shouted as he rolled up to the three other Autobots, "The last few doohickeys aren't anywhere near as unstable!" He transformed into robot mode. "Kind of a shame we gotta leave the Energon isotopes behind though…"_

" _They're far too unstable for the speeds I'll be flying at," Jetfire remarked, "And I'd much rather not explode in midair!"_

" _Right, you go on ahead, the data-stick should be done downloading all the formulas," Wheeljack said, the prongs on the side of his face lighting up with every syllable, "I should be able to fit that data-stick, our remaining equipment, and B-127 into my vehicle mode for the drive back."_

" _Well… Good luck," Jetfire stated before engaging his thrusters and taking flight._

" _So uh… Where's the rest of this equipment?" Wildwheel asked._

" _Oh! Just follow me!" Wheeljack stated as he walked back into the lab, "And hurry it up! I'm not sure if this building can take another tremor."_

" _And that should be it," B-127 commented as he placed a toolbox into the back of Wheeljack's altmode, right next to an adaptor cord, "You got the data-stick stored away?"_

" _Of course I do!" Wheeljack replied, an edge to his voice, "But it feels a little light… Did you two remember to load up the Energon Synthesizer?" He asked._

" _Oh scrap, where is it?" B-127 asked._

" _It should be over there, by the Energon Isotopes," Wheeljack replied, "We used it to_ make _those isotopes, after all. Well, not that exact one… A lot of the Isotopes just blew up the second we tried to mix them!"_

" _I see it," Wildwheel replied glancing over at a device next to a stack of multi-colored Energon cubes, "I'll have it back in a jiffy!" The Autobot sharpshooter dashed over to the device and wrapped his arms around it, just in time for the ground to start shaking again, and the stack of Energon cubes to start to tip over.._

" _Wildwheel look out!" B-127 shouted as he sprinted towards the larger Autobot. The first cube cracked on the floor, and the second landed on top._

**BOOM!**

_B-127 was knocked off his feet as the cubes erupted._

* * *

" _Scrap, scrap, scrap," Wheeljack's voice chanted as B-127 shifted in and out of consciousness in the back of his vehicle mode. "Damn it B! Hang in there! We're almost at the Ark!"_

_Everything went black._

* * *

" _Dammit B-127, I'm not a miracle worker!" Ratchet shouted. He was standing over B-127's hospital berth, in an unfamiliar, orange infirmary, as the injured Autobot's legs hung on the wall._

" _... Stinger's voicebox says otherwise," B-127 rasped._

" _Do you KNOW how long you were offline?" Ratchet shouted._

" _No… I was in stasis lock, remember?" B-127 replied, "Hey, could you reattach my legs?"_

" _Not until your repairs are done!" Ratchet snapped back, "Honestly, at least you can't run off into danger without them!"_

" _Watch me," B-127 boasted, "How's… Wildwheel holding up?" Ratchet's expression immediately softened._

" _... Wheeljack sent a rescue party to dig through the rubble after carrying your largest pieces back to the Ark," he explained, "If there's anything left of him… It's indistinguishable from the rest of the debris."_

" _Oh…" B-127 remarked._

" _Now… I'm going to need to check your voicebox," Ratchet stated, "I can ready the EMP generator but it's still going to sting. So, try not to move too much, okay?"_

" _... Just… Get it over with…" B-127 replied._

* * *

"That's… A weird spot to jump from," Winter commented, "Maybe the EMP made the memory a little fuz- Wait… Something's fading into view?"

* * *

"Thanks for filling in at the last click," _Hot Rod's voice came over B-127's comms,_ "I _really_ owe you one!"

" _Don't mention it!" B-127 replied as he drove along the outer wall of Tyger Pax, "We can't have our patrol slowed down by a flat tire. You just focus on getting your tire change, and I'll call Ultra Magnus if I see anything suspicious!"_

* * *

"... Why does his voice sound different?" Winter asked, "It's… A little higher… More youthful…"

* * *

" _Alright, nothing by the gates, time to check the overgrowth," B-127 remarked as he approached a metallic forest with blue panels for leaves, "Gotta keep an optic open for danger…" He sped right into the forest, swerved and weaved past several roots, before striking the side of some metallic structure and tumbling across the ground._

" _Okay, ow?" B-127 groaned as he shifted back into robot mode, "Seriously, who just leaves… This…"_

_The structure was a white tank with a black cannon._

" _Oh no…" B-127 engaged his comm as the tank shifted into robot mode, and two piercing, red optics starred right back down at him._

" _Why, B-127, I don't think I've seen you since the battle of Iacon."_

" _Megatron…"_

" _Now, is that anyway to greet your old teacher?" Megatron asked as more shifting revealed several Eradicon troopers waiting in the wings, "Why, I was hoping the two of us could have a little… 'Chat', mostly about where Optimus Prime disappeared to."_

_B-127 took a second to steady his ventilation, before deploying his battle mask and opening fire on the Decepticon warlord. Megatron rolled his optics and caught each blast with his right hand._

" _Come now, B-127, you just couldn't keep your mouth shut back at Darkmount, why the muted voicebox all of a sudden?" Megatron taunted as he lowered his hand, "Don't you have anything to say to the bot who treated you like his own creation?"_

"B-127 what's your situation?" _Ultra Magnus asked over the commlink. Megatron grinned as B-127 tensed._

" _Don't," Megatron warned as he raised his Fusion Cannon. B-127 glanced between Megatron, his comm, and the palm of his right hand, his ventilation kicking into overdrive. He closed his optics, raised his hands, and dashed forward to jab a Stinger into Megatron's knee, before shifting into vehicle mode and driving between his legs._

" _Megatron is outside the Southeastern border of the city with an unknown number of troops! Attack is imminent! Rally the troops before it's too-" A spiked ball of Energon slammed into B-127's side, smashing him against one of the arborous structures. B-127 shifted into robot mode and deployed an Energon blade to swing it at Megatron, only for the warlord to grab ahold of his left forearm and hoist him into the air. With a roar, Megatron slammed B-127 into the ground, before releasing the scout's arm and firing at him, point-blank, with his Fusion Cannon, shattering his Projected Spark Field immediately._

"B-127, are you alright?"

" _He's…" B-127 coughed up a pink liquid, "Distracted, but he won't be for much-" Megatron ripped B-127 off the ground and stabbed the points of his right thumb and index and pointer fingers into the left side of B-127's neck._

" _You talk too much…" he growled._

* * *

Winter's hands flew up to her mouth as B-127's past self cried out in agony.

_He's just a machine! He's just a machine! He's just a machine!_

* * *

_B-127 dropped to the ground, the device that had just been torn out of his neck resting in Megatron's hand, several cables dangling from the device._

" _Considering that you started the war with this voicebox, the Autobots should really thank me for this," Megatron stated as he dropped the device._

_B-127 desperately reached for the voicebox-_

**CRUNCH!**

_-only for Megatron to crush it underfoot right as his fingers reached the nearest cable._

" _Decepticons,_ _ **ATTACK!**_ "

_And then everything went dark._

* * *

_B-127 tried to ignore how much his absent voice-box burned as he walked down the halls of the Titan. There was a horrible absence_

_He tried to scream to alleviate his pain, only to grip his neck and cough up smoke instead._

" _Do you need anything B?" a familiar voice asked._

_B-127 shot a glare over his shoulder at Hot Rod._

" _That… Looks and sounds pretty painful," the other Autobot remarked as he reached down to offer the smaller-yet-older Autobot a hand, "Do you need some coolant, or-"_

_B-127 wordlessly swatted Hot Rod's hand away and shifted into vehicle mode to rush down the hall, only skidding to a halt and changing back upon reaching a window. B-127 walked up to the view glass and placed his hand on the pane as his optics drank in the view. The Titan he was on was orbiting Cybertron's fourth moon, with the first moon peeking out from behind Cybertron. While parts of the planet were blotted out from patches of smoke, the mechanical sphere still shined._

This is what we're fighting for… _B-127 thought,_ Megatron may have taken my voice, but I swear to the AllSpark, he will not take my home!

* * *

_B-127 limped through the halls of the Ark as he rubbed his neck._

" _That never gets any less painful," he muttered. His thoughts went back to Wildwheel, back to Stinger, to Alpha Trion, to all the brave Autobots and Maximals who'd laid down their lives to protect the universe from Megatron and Razorclaw. He noticed a window in the corner of his optic, and felt his Spark skip a pulse as he laid optics on Cybertron._

_The entire planet was bathed in an orange glow from the countless fires across the surface. Two pincers on opposite ends of a gaping maw reached from the surface of the planet. A ring seemed to be forming around the planet, connected to the surface by several spires._

" _Megatron… What have you done?"_

* * *

Winter sat in silence.

"Strange how those memories all bled together," she muttered, "But… The Decepticons turned their own homeworld into a weapon?" The Specialist felt a chill run down her spine. "Could it be… What could the Autobots have done to justify such drastic measures?"

_Could anything justify such drastic measures?_

"... The General knows best," Winter reminded herself.

* * *

" _ **Oh sure… Blame the great Megatron for what you Autobots brought onto yourselves,"**_ _Shatter's voice echoed,_ " _ **You've shown all the maturity of the disobedient little protoform you truly are!"**_

" _I didn't poison our planet's core!" B-127 shouted, "I didn't twist our homeworld into a weapon!'_

" _ **No, but if you had just done what Megatron asked of you, this war would be over, and your human pet wouldn't have been dragged into this conflict!"**_ _Shatter shouted,_ " _ **But keep telling yourself whatever you need to believe that you're the hero of this story."**_

" _... Please… I'm not afraid to admit that I've made mistakes…"_

_And the void shifted…_

* * *

" _WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Orion Pax shouted._

" _Kaon's city guards are corrupt," Megatron dismissed with a wave of his hand, "They would've opened fire on those protesters even if I had done nothing!"_

" _That's not the point!" Orion protested, "I understand that there's a time and a place for violence, but what you did goes beyond self defence and put all of our Ascenticons' lives in danger!"_

" _You don't know these bots like I do," B-127 interjected, "At the very least, we gave the pede-polishers some dents!"_

" _Dents that they'll buff out, while several of our Ascenticons were arrested, maimed, or_ _ **killed**_ _in the resulting panic!" Orion Pax pointed out, "The entire reason I brought us those magnets was to disable their Energon rifles so that anyone who opened fire would only succeed in injuring themself! We don't have the means to topple the Functionists through force!"_

" _Not with that attitude we won't," Megatron replied, "But we can inspire others to join us, and their numbers will give us the strength we need to take down the High Council! There can be no peace until my… Our dreams are realized!"_

" _That's enough!" an elderly voice called out. All optics turned to face the doorway to the room._

" _Alpha Trion?" Megatron questioned._

" _Sir, what are you doing here?" Orion asked._

" _Just checking on my creation," Alpha Trion answered as he stepped over the threshold, "I've only got one optic left, figured I'd keep it on the one I poured my Spark into."_

" _I'm fine," Orion replied, "I was patching up a protoform when Megatron decided to swing his Energon mace at the Security Chief."_

" _One can never be too careful now," Alpha Trion remarked, "Well… Not unless it keeps you from taking the action you need."_

" _Hah!"_

" _However, I've fought in four separate wars," Alpha Trion continued, before turning his one, functional optic on Megatron, "I would much rather not have to dust off my weapons for a FIFTH unless it was absolutely necessary."_

_Megatron snarled wordlessly._

" _It might not seem like it now, but all of Cybertron is watching us," Alpha Trion continued, "Whether we shall be seen as the heroic rebels rising up against a corrupt regime, or the dangerous renegades who need to be put down for the good of all depends entirely on who ends up 'winning' this conflict. At least as far as the historians are concerned. However, as far as the present goes, Nominus Prime controls the news media, so it is absolutely important to know that he will do everything in his power to twist everything you do into some sort of grievous sin against life itself. If we are to succeed in changing Cybertron for the better, we must do everything in our power to make that as hard for them to pull off as possible, lest the bots we're trying to uplift come to view us as the villains holding them back. Is that clear?"_

" _Of course," Orion Pax remarked, "Strength alone will not bring victory. We'll need to win over the Sparks of Cybertron's populace if we wish to pull this off, regardless of whether we settle this on the political battlefield, or the literal one. We will have to continue this battle 'til all are one!"_

" _... I suppose you have a point…" Megatron muttered as his face turned contemplative, "Perhaps we could use a bit more subtlety…"_

* * *

Winter felt her blood run cold as the implications of what she just saw sank in. She wordlessly took out her Scroll and selected her first contact.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up…" She chanted as it rang.

" _Specialist Schnee,"_ the General greeted, " _Have you located B-127's spaceship?"_

"Sir, we may have made a _horrible_ mistake," Winter started as the memory playback continued.

* * *

_B-127 approached Orion Pax and Megatron._

" _Come on Orion, I saved your life," Megatron began, "I saved your life, and you repay me by abandoning our cause?"_

" _I am not abandoning the cause," Orion replied, "I simply believe that this is the point our paths diverge."_

" _So what's your plan for gaining equality, politely asking Nominus to abolish the caste system?" Megatron asked._

" _Alpha Trion still has a lot of supporters throughout Cybertron," Orion Pax answered, "I'm hoping to earn enough support to place allies on the High Council, in order to limit Nominus Prime's power."_

" _Do you seriously think that would work?" Megatron asked._

" _Even with superior numbers, we can't hope to outgun the Functionists," Orion Pax opened, "I'm being pragmatic. If the time to bear arms to fight for our freedom comes, I will not hesitate to join the battle. This is my home, and I do not intend to give it up without a fight."_

" _If you say so…" Megatron replied as he turned and walked away._

" _So long Megatron," Orion replied, "Hopefully our next meeting will be on better terms…" Orion turned away and transformed into vehicle mode, driving off into the sunset._

" _What's the plan now, Megatron?" B-127 asked._

" _Now? We gather followers," Megatron replied, "We must uplift the downtrodden, win their Sparks, and arm the outcasts. Are you with me?"_

" _Of course, sir!" B-127 answered, "Without you, I am nothing."_

_Megatron smirked._

" _Then it's time to turn the tables on who's tyrannized."_

* * *

" _Congratulations on getting the Matrix!" B-127 opened as he and Orion Pax rode up the elevator, "What are your plans for Cybertron?"_

" _For one, I think the Functionists are going to be unpleasantly surprised," Orion Pax replied with a grin, "They apparently believed that I would be passive enough for them to control… And I look forward to proving them wrong." B-127 asked._

" _Honestly, I think the fact that you're even dropping by to give Megatron a visit must be having them regretting their life choices," he replied._

" _Unlike Nominus, I rose to power legally," Orion remarked, "They don't have any room to complain."_

DING!

" _I'll go let Megatron know you're here," B-127 said as the elevator doors opened, "Follow me! I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you!"_

* * *

"... And it would appear as though the Autobots took power through the proper legal channels!" Winter continued.

" _Then why did B-127 introduce himself as the leader of the Autobot Resistance?"_ General Ironwood asked.

"I don't know! I'm still watching the part of his memories where he was working with the Decepticons!" Winter replied, "The Autobot's leader, someone named 'Orion Pax', is meeting with Megatron at the moment, apparently he wants him to be his adviser?"

" _Winter, remember, what you're seeing has already happened,"_ Ironwood reminded her, " _He wanted him to be his adviser."_

"With all due respect, sir, that might be a mute point," Winter stated, "Megatron's rising from his throne… He… Oh gods we've made a horrible mistake…"

" _Winter, you keep saying that but you're not explaining-_

_BANG!_

" _... Specialist… What was that?"_

"... Megatron took power… Through a coup…"

" _What?!"_

"... That's why the Autobots are a resistance, they're rebelling against the usurpers who toppled their own government!" Winter stated, "Sir, we need to alert the Vale Council, I don't think I could take either Decepticon in a fight!"

" _Take it easy, Winter, I have an ally in Vale I can contact, and he can sort this entire misunderstanding out."_

"You do?"

" _Don't worry, everything is completely under control,"_ Ironwood promised, " _Just call me back when you have the location of the Ark."_

"Of course… Thank you sir," Winter replied, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

" _The feeling is mutual, Winter,"_ Ironwood replied, " _Over and out."_

Ironwood stared down at his Scroll and sighed.

"Ozpin is going to try to blame me for this, I just know it…"

* * *

_B-127 sat down in the cargo hold of Jetfire's alt mode, staring at Orion's lifeless husk._

" _What am I going to tell Alpha Trion?" he wondered._

" _B! We're about to land!" Jetfire shouted, "The Elite Guard and the Autobots have secured a safe zone!"_

_B-127 didn't respond._

" _Hey, if you hadn't warned them, this could've been a lot worse," Jetfire tried to assure him, "Don't forget, Megatron fooled me too, and the Wreckers as well."_

_B-127 remained silent, even as Jetfire landed and paramedics boarded to take Orion's corpse away and examine both former Ascenticons for injuries. B-127 waved them off as he descended the ramp to exit Jetfire's alt mode, several Autobots and guards staring in shock at Orion's remains._

" _Out of my way! Out of my way!" an elderly voice shouted. The present Transformers shuffled out of the way, clearing a path for a small vehicle to tow a larger one through, the smaller vehicle hoisted the larger one up, unfolding into a wheelchair as the larger vehicle unfolded into an aging robot. Only one optic was till functioning, and most of the robot's body was a lifeless gray._

" _Alpha Trion, I-"_

" _This is not your fault," Alpha Trion interrupted, "You are not responsible for Megatron's choices. No… I had my misgivings about Megatron from the start, but kept them to myself out of the belief that I was simply being paranoid." He placed his still functioning hand on Orion's chest, right next to the hole that had been burned in it. "Perhaps, if I had shared my concerns with Orion, this would not have happened…" He turned to Ultra Magnus. "Tell me, is Vector Sigma still secure?"_

" _It should still be in your workshop," the large security officer answered, "I don't see how that…"_

" _Contact my assistant, we have work to do," Alpha Trion interrupted as sat Orion Pax's body onto his lap, "I will need an escort if this is going to work…"_

" _Alpha Trion… Sir, what are you planning?" Ultra Magnus asked._

_Alpha Trion opened his mouth to answer, but immediately started coughing up smoke, his Projected Spark Field flaring, but it only covered the parts of his body that were still functioning._

" _Alpha Trion! What happened to your Projected Spark Field?" B-127 asked._

" _Did you honestly believe that Vector Sigma could create new Sparks from nothing?" Alpha Trion questioned._

* * *

"... So that's why he treasures her so much…" Winter remarked.

* * *

_B-127 struggled to pull himself out of the rubble of Iacon Tower, the Nemesis floating in the sky above, taking potshots at the Autobot Seekers and occasionally raining laserfire on entire districts of the city at a time._

" _This is your doing, B-127!" Megatron shouted as he approached his former student, "Had you done as I said, we could have taken the damned Functionist down before anyone had time to react! I could have taken the Matrix and guided Cybertron into a new golden age as it's rightful ruler!" He deployed his Energon mace, letting the spiked ball hit the ground. "But now, you will not even get to live to see my glorious utopia! You share burn and die alongside all of the other fools and cowards you selfishly sold me out for!" Megatron lifted his arm, throwing the spiked Energon ball back. "Farewell,_ _ **traitor!**_ " _He tried to pull it forward to strike B-127 down, only to realize that the chain was caught on something._

" _The only traitor I see here is_ _ **you**_ _, Megatron!" Jetfire snarled as he yanked the chain, pulling Megatron into the air. He lifted the warlord over his head by the chain-_

_**CLANG!** _

_-before slamming him into the nearest piece of rubble he could find._

_**CLANG!** _

_Followed swiftly by another piece._

_**CLANG!** _

_And then another piece._

_He lifted Megatron up once more, failing to notice the red glow in his Fusion Cannon._

_**BANG!** _

_Jetfire cried out and lost his grip, losing consciousness as he dropped to the ground._

" _Hypocrite," Megatron spat, "You're just as much of a traitor as B-127 is!" In a flash of light, a purple seeker with yellow optics materialized, holding a golden object with a blue crystal in its core._

" _Lord Megatron, I have successfully retrieved the Matrix," she stated._

" _Excellent work Skywarp," Megatron said as he retracted his melee weapon and took the Matrix from her hands, "Watch and learn B-127, you are about to witness a hero become a god!"_

" _No…"_

_Megatron took the Matrix in both hands and opened his chest compartment._

" _Face it, traitors, you were powerless against the hand of fate!" he gloated._

" _Fortunately, I was never one to believe in fate!" a deep voice shouted._

" _Who dares?" Megatron shouted, lowering the Matrix of Leadership and pointing his Fusion Cannon in the direction of the voice, the sound of a roaring engine growing closer. Suddenly, a red and blue truck ramped off a nearby piece of rubble, and landed directly on top of Megatron._

" _This doesn't belong to you…" the truck growled as it unfolded into a large Autobot. He knelt down and took the Matrix from Megatron's hands, before opening up his own chest compartment and placing it in there._

" _Orion?" B-127 questioned as the Autobot stepped off of Megatron and walked over to him._

" _But… That's impossible… You're dead!" Megatron shouted as he pushed himself to his feet, "I watched the light fade from your optics! How are you_ _ **still**_ _alive?" Orion wordlessly shifted one of his hands into an Energon Pistol and shot Megatron in the still open chest compartment._

" _I don't owe you any answers, Megatron," he began as Megatron closed his chest compartment and growled in pain, "But I will say this, Orion Pax did die. But I was reforged in my new form. And now, no force in the universe will stop me!"_

" _JUST WHO THE PIT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Megatron screamed as he pointed his Fusion Cannon at Orion Pax, "The Matrix is my Forgeright! IT IS MY DESTINY!_ _ **I REFUSE TO LET SOME FILE CLERK TAKE MY DESTINY FROM ME!**_ "

" _My name is Optimus Prime," the Autobot leader answered calmly as he shifted his other hand into an Energon Ax, "And like I told you so long ago, I will not give up my home without a fight!"_

_And the battle began._

* * *

" _ **You know B-127, I'm growing tired of these pointless diversions, and I'm certain Dropkick is as well,"**_ _Shatter's voice warned._

" _Well, there's not really anything you can do about it," Bumblebee remarked, "In case you forgot, this is still my mind."_

" _ **Perhaps, but minds tend to wander,"**_ _Shatter replied,_ " _ **And right now, I just realized something."**_

" _Oh?" B-127 smugly responded._

" _ **You're trying to protect those humans from something,"**_ _Shatter continued,_ " _ **And I wonder what that is…"**_

_And the darkness shifted again._

* * *

_B-127 rolled onto the bridge of the Ark and shifted into robot mode._

" _Optimus, you were right about the Omega Key's location!" B-127 replied._

" _Then the dark essence has truly been purged from everything Megatron infected with it," Optimus remarked, "The Matrix was able to detect them as well as the Omega Lock."_

" _Too bad Cybertron was destroyed in the process," B-127 remarked._

" _Perhaps," Optimus sighed in resignation, "But once the others have returned with their keys, we can begin tracking the AllSpark's location. Then, we can use the Omega Lock to cyberform an uninhabited world, give that world life with the AllSpark, and liberate the galaxy from the Decepticon Empire."_

" _Does it really matter who uses the Omega Lock?" B-127 asked._

" _Megatron has already shown that he isn't above using the Omega Lock as a weapon," Optimus replied, "If it's used on an inhabited world… There's no telling how much damage would be done. And given Megatron's disdain for organic life…"_

" _He'd use it to instantly wipe out every organic race he encounters," B-127 finished._

" _That is why the Decepticons must never again control the Omega Lock," Optimus continued, "And also why we must ensure that we aren't followed once we begin our search for the AllSpark."_

" _Good thing none of the Decepticons wanted to hang around the Cybertronian debris field," B-127 replied, "Even with the angolmois radiation dissipated into the cosmos, the electromagnetic residue from Cybertron's detonation is seriously giving me a headache."_

" _Fortunately, we will not need to linger here much longer," Optimus replied, "As soon as the others return, we can pick up the remainder of our crew from Carcer, and begin the search for our new home."_

"' _Til all are one," B-127 said with a salute._

"' _Til all are one."_

* * *

"... Oh… Oh gods..." Winter felt her blood run cold and took out her Scroll once more.

* * *

" _I cannot believe that we got into two fights with the White Fang this week," Yang remarked._

" _Honestly, I can't believe I accidentally contacted Sienna Khan," Ruby remarked "Seriously, could you have been a bit more specific about what your homing beacon looks like?"_

" _I have no idea what you mistook for my homing beacon, so I honestly don't see what I could've done differently," Bumblebee said as he examined his homing beacon, "Now, let's see, where's that port? Ah! There it is!" He deployed a plug from his pointer finger. "See you in a bit!" He plugged into the homing beacon, and suddenly his vision was covered by a map of Remnant. Suddenly, the image zoomed in on the continent of Saunus, the rest of the world disappearing, then on Eastern Saunus, then the territory of the Kingdom of Vale, then on the island of Vytal, where an Autobot symbol appeared in the wilderness well outside of Vytal City's borders, alongside a set of coordinates pin-pointing is latitude, longitude, and elevation._

* * *

"Heh, there we go," Dropkick said as he logged the coordinates into his computer and disconnected Shatter from the Patch, "So, what's the plan now?"

"Well, first thing's first," Shatter stated, "Before we even began, Winter contacted the General and revealed that she had hooked up the Patch to the base's surveillance system. Unfortunately, I had no way of shutting her out without revealing our hand too early, so if you could tie that loose end…"

"With pleasure," Dropkick chuckled as he shifted his forearm into an Energon cannon.

* * *

" _... And that's the gist of the problem,_ " Ironwood finished.

"... You do realize that we're going to have to explain all of this to both the Vale Council and the Atlas Council if you want to send Winter reinforcements to deal with the Decepticons I warned you about!"

" _B-127 hadn't really given me much reason to trust him!_ " Ironwood defended, " _And… Hang on, Winter's calling me with further intel on the Decepticons' interrogation._ "

"Well, why not turn this emergency meeting into a group call?" Ozpin asked, "I'm certain she'd like to get as far away from the genocidal alien warmongers as quickly as possible."

"Winter, what is it you wanted to-"

" _The Autobots captured a weapon that could be used to destroy all of Remnant with ease in order to keep the Decepticons from using it!_ " Winter interrupted, " _The crash site is in the wilderness of Vytal, just a few miles north of the Southern coast! I'm sending the coordinates now! The Decepticons have already ended their interrogation, and are probably already heading their as we speAUGH-_ "

The transition abruptly ended.

" _Specialist Schnee?_ " Ironwood questioned, " _Winter, respond!_ "

* * *

Dropkick lowered his weapon as he admired the smoking pile of debris that used to be Winter's office.

"Perhaps you could also do something about this door?" Shatter suggested.

_**BOOM!** _

The shutter door was torn from the threshold and landed on the ground with a resounding _CLANG!_ Shatter smirked as she stepped through the threshold and into the airfield outside the base.

"Hey, what the hell are you-"

"It has been a pleasure doing business with you," Shatter interrupted as she shifted her hands into Energon pistols and pointed them at the soldiers, "Send Mortilus my regards." And she opened fire, not noticing that Bumblebee was struggling against his chains as Dropkick stepped out.

"You didn't leave any for me?" he whined.

"You need to save your ammo for the Autobots," Shatter replied.

Bumblebee remembered Yang talking to what she thought was an inanimate motorcycle as she tinkered with Ember Celica.

Bumblebee remembered Ruby playing with the family pet.

Bumblebee remembered Taiyang's horror at being unable to be there for his daughters.

The Autobot broke his chains and dropped to the ground, hissing in pain as the drop aggravated his wounds.

"Ah, B-127, I almost forgot about you," Shatter said as she and Dropkick turned to face him.

"I didn't," Dropkick said as he raised and primed his Energon cannon.

_**BOOM!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how much I cut. Someone pointed out to me that it would be pretty stupid of the Decepticons to let Winter watch the "interrogation" so I ended up rewriting parts of the introduction in order to have Winter do something else. There's also a few scenes I decided to save for the prequel, but this is mostly meant to... Well... Do some world building, set the stakes, and further develop the cast. After this, there's only four chapters left (not counting the epilogue).  
> I'll see you all next time, where we see what the Rose/Xiao Longs were up to in the mean time! Until then!  
> Update 1/20/2021: I've renamed "Gaia" and "Lio Prime" into "Gaea" and "Lio Convoy" respectively.  
> Update 1/22/2021: I've corrected the formatting of Wildwheel's name. According to TFWiki, it's one word and not two. Oops.


	13. Chapter 12: Crash and Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this took longer than it needed to. Welp! Here's what Yang was getting up to after she was stabbed! As a reminder: There's a TV Tropes page!

" _Her Aura levels are rising!"_

" _Make sure to remove the saber slowly, so her Aura has time to repair any internal damage."_

"Ugh…" Yang could just barely make out a blurry light overhead, even as the distant voices grow closer, a horrible aching in her abdomen.

" _Pull on three."_

" _One."_

" _Two."_

" _Three!"_

Yang screamed as she felt the cold, Dust-infused steel scrape against her body, her eyes turning red and her hair bursting into flames as she threw a punch at whoever's hands were on the blade.

"Shit! She's awake!"

"Where's the sedative?"

"Hold her still! Hold her still!"

"My Aura's not unlocked!

Yang's panic did not abate as she felt several hands all over her body, her arms, her midsection, her legs, and shoulders, yanking her back down as she tried to throw her captors off.

"Found it!"

Someone, she couldn't make out who, clamped a cloth over her mouth, and Yang felt her strength leave her.

"Her Semblance seems to have deactivated!"

Everything got blurry as she tried to remember why she was struggling.

" _Sweet dreams…"_

And everything went dark.

* * *

" _You said you wouldn't hurt them!_ " were the first words Yang heard when she next woke up.

"Accidents happen on the field."

Yang's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up, immediately regretting it as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. When she opened her eyes, she saw her father and Winter standing in the doorway, and it became clear that she had been resting on the couch.

"Accidents?" Taiyang incredulously remarked, "So you just 'accidentally' maim little girls all the time over in Atlas?"

"That is enough!" Winter shouted, "You should consider yourself lucky that I was willing to negotiate in the first place when you were _conspiring with an enemy of the Kingdoms!_ "

"You attacked a kid and stabbed a student!" Taiyang shouted, "If you think I'm just going to let that slide-"

"Do you honestly think that _anyone_ would believe your science fiction horror story?" Winter asked, "As far as the public is concerned, Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose were both abducted by a dangerous fugitive, and I saved their lives." She turned away from Taiyang. "I did not intend to endanger either girl's life, so I suggest you forget that this ever happened and tend to their injuries. Good night, Mr. Xiao Long. Let your older daughter know that I wish her a speedy recovery." She walked out, the front door closing behind her. Taiyang sighed.

" _You're the one who told her?!_ " Yang shouted, before wincing and hugging her abdomen.

"You're awake!" Ruby's voice called out. And Yang suddenly found herself shoved into the back of the couch as two arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug

"Ruby! Now's not the-" her words died in her throat when she caught a glimpse of Ruby's face, and the diagonal scar that started under her right eye and ended above her left. "... Ruby… Your face…"

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine," Ruby insisted, "But what happened to you? I could hear you screaming when I woke up!"

"Winter stabbed me after she knocked you out," Yang answered, "And… Wait, did Bumblebee get away?"

"It was either him or you two," Taiyang stated, "And Ruby, we're going to have a talk about what you did." Yang scoffed.

"Like you have room to talk after you betrayed us!" she snapped.

"I was trying to protect you!"

"Well, you did a great job of that!" Yang replied, "Ruby's got a permanent reminder of what you did between her eyes and I got stabbed by some Atlesian bully who was way too eager to beat the shit out of Ru-Ow!" Yang's hand flew back to her bandaged wound.

"Yang, please," Taiyang interrupted as he walked over to the couch and knelt down next to her, "Your Aura… It's not done healing you yet. Your skin is mostly healed, but there's still some internal damage, both from the stab wound and from removing the sword."

"And who do we have to thank for that again?" Yang asked.

"Yang… I-"

"Or do you have a plan to save Bumblebee?" Yang asked, "Because, you know, he's kind of the only thing standing between us and an _alien armada_ that sees us as pests to exterminate _at best!_ "

"Yang… Ozpin's dealt with threats that keep me up at night, he can handle whatever the Decepticons throw at us," Taiyang insisted while refusing to meet Yang's gaze, "Besides Bumblebee's pretty tough, he wouldn't have survived two million years of war if he wasn't. I'm sure he'll figure something out. Besides…" His expression darkened. "We probably got too involved as is. Maybe it would be best if we just forgot these last couple of days ever happened." Yang's eyes turned red as she pushed herself up from the couch.

"What kind of Huntsman are you?" she growled.

"Yang?" Ruby questioned.

"Isn't it your job to look out for the people that need you?" Yang asked, ignoring Ruby.

"And as it stands, you and Ruby still need me," Taiyang replied as he stood up, "Ergo, it's my duty to look out for you two!"

"Dad, I'm going to graduate from Signal this Fall, and then I'll be off to Beacon in the Spring!" Yang shouted, "Do you intend to follow me to Beacon and coddle me until graduation?"

"You're not a Beacon student _yet!_ " Taiyang shot back, "Until that day comes, you're my responsibility, and I need to do what's best for you!"

"So sending Ironwood's personal attack dog to stab me in the gut is what's best for me?" Yang asked, "Betraying the guy who saved my life _twice_ is what's best for me? Selling me and Bumblebee out to the _creature_ that tried to _rip my fucking arm off_ is what's best for me?"

"It wasn't your fight, Yang!" Taiyang shouted, "We never should've gotten involved! Right now, we have to focus on getting the Grimm back under control, and you ready for when Signal reopens next week! This is way above your league and Bumblebee isn't your responsibility!"

"So what, I should just abandon him? _Like Mom abandoned us!_ " Yang shouted as her hair burst into flames. The fire died down when she noticed her father wince. "Dad… I…"

"Just…" he sighed, "Go to your room and try to get some sleep…" He turned away from her. "It's been a tiring day all around…"

* * *

Yang laid awake in her bed, staring wordlessly at the ceiling. She hadn't even changed for bed. Ruby had dropped by to place _Ember Celica_ on her nightstand ("Winter apparently thought that confiscating our weapons would hurt her cover story."). The curtains on her window were still closed, but even then every time she closed her eyes she could see _his_ demonic glare. And the more she tried not to think about that, the more she thought about how Bumblebee had swooped in to save her and Ruby from that unusually lively Ursa Major, followed by how he had acted when she had an (embarrassing in hindsight) emotional episode right in front of him, followed by remembering how Shatter had apparently _tortured_ him in the past if her statement at their first meeting meant anything.

"... Oh screw it," she stated as she sat up. She hopped out of bed, hissed and hugged her midsection, and walked over to her nightstand to pick up her Shot Gauntlets, checking the chambers. "So she emptied the ammunition." She put on _Ember Celica_ and switched both gauntlets to bracelet mode. "That won't take long to fix."

* * *

Yang walked out of her house, ignoring the ax embedded in the front door, and made her way for the woods, a pack on her back, and the shattered moon illuminating the sky.

"Don't you think you're forgetting something?" a high voice asked. Yang whirled around to see her sister standing in front of the closing door, already dressed in her cape and combat outfit.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" she asked the silver eyed girl.

"Couldn't sleep," Ruby answered as she walked away from the house, "Were you planning on sneaking out?"

"No…" Yang answered, "I was in the _middle_ of sneaking out. If I was still in the planning stage, you wouldn't know."

"And where were you heading?" Ruby asked.

"Nowhere important," Yang answered as she turned away, "Just go back to bed, I have an errand I have to run."

"Okay, I'll go wake up Dad and see what he thi-" a yellow blur dashed over to Ruby and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't. You. Dare," Yang warned.

Ruby smirked, and licked her sister's hand.

"Ew!" Yang exclaimed as she tore her hand away from Ruby's mouth and wiped it off on her shorts, "What the heck?"

"What are you really doing?" Ruby asked, "You packed up a back-pack, left a note in your bed, and took some ammo from the safe room! This isn't just an errand!" Yang sighed.

"I'm gonna try and break out Bumblebee," she replied, "There's only one military base on Patch, and finding it shouldn't be that much of a problem. So, I just need to go in, knock around some heads, bust out Bumblebee, and then we can make a mad dash for the Ark."

"So… You're planning to take on Winter's entire division on your own, in addition to Winter herself, her frost-sculpture minions, _and_ Shatter and Dropkick _completely_ on your own?" Ruby questioned.

"... I'd have Bumblebee's help as soon as I bust him out," Yang replied.

"If you make it that far!" Ruby replied, "Remember, even when we were exploiting Winter's tunnel vision, she still ended up beating both of us! If you're gonna bust out Bumblebee, you can't do it alone!"

"Look, Professor Goodwitch is held up in Forever Fall, Ozpin's busy doing headmaster things, Uncle Qrow's off on a mission doing who knows what, and Dad's made it pretty clear that he's not gonna help Bee anymore," Yang listed off, "So, what are you suggesting?"

Ruby switched _Crescent Rose_ into sniper rifle mode and struck a pose with a smirk.

"I'm saying you're going to need cover fire," she stated.

"... Absolutely not," Yang replied.

"If you don't let me come I'll go wake Dad up and tell him everything!" Ruby threatened. Yang sighed.

"Did you grab your back-up ammo before coming out here?" she asked. A panicked look crossed Ruby's face, and the silver-eyed girl checked her pouches and pockets, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't forget anything this time!" she announced with a grin.

* * *

"I knew that girl was trouble," an Atlesian soldier said as she patrolled the perimeter of the airfield.

"I know Rose," her partner replied.

"Seriously Gil, if Specialist Schnee had just let us take that Valean ruffian into custody, we could've avoided that whole embarrassment with the Vale Council," Rose continued.

"I know, Rose," Private Gil sighed.

"And then she let the whole family off with a slap on the wrist!" Rose continued, "I'm telling you, if I was in charge, I'd have sent the lot of them to the Schnee Dust Mines where the SDC can work them to death alongside those _stupid animals_!"

"As amazingly _cathartic_ as that mental image is," Gil started, "Unless one of those dumb foreigners works up the nerve to attack us, we're not gonna get the chance to do that without risking a war with Vale."

"... Oh like these 'people' could ever stand a chance against the might of Atlas," Rose scoffed.

" _Intruder! Iden-_ "

_BOOM!_

"Time to put your Lien where your lips are," Gil remarked as he ran towards the sound of the explosion.

"... Never say that again," Rose stated as she followed after him.

"I never realized how big Patch was until now," Yang remarked dryly as she and Ruby approached the airfield through the treeline.

"Looks like they replaced the fence with multiple Hard-Light generators," Ruby noted, realizing that there was nothing but empty air between the "fence posts" surrounding the perimeter.

"So… We can waltz right in?" Yang commented as she dashed between two of the Hard-Light generators.

"Exa- Wait! No, we canno-"

" _Intruder!_ "

_Ka-click!_

" _Identify your-"_

_BOOM!_

Ruby facepalmed as the hard-light barriers went up, separating her and Yang.

"... There goes subtlety," she groaned.

[BGM ~ Ignite](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5bpyiSpE8Y)

Yang watched as the now headless robot crumpled to the ground, the remaining six Atlesian Knights raising their guns. She raised Ember Celica and threw two punches, one to her right, and a second to her left, before launching herself at the right most robot. One punch took off the head, while one kick knocked it into its neighbor, allowing her to whirl around and face the two robots that were still shooting her.

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

With that matter taken care of, she was almost immediately surrounded by a dozen or so soldiers.

"Sit still, and we might reconsider filling you with holes!" one of them said as she pointed her gun at Yang.

"... Are you _sure_ you aren't the Mistrali Cartel?" Yang replied. The soldier in question shrieked in rage as she pulled the trigger, prompting the lot of them to open fire.

_Crack!_

The soldier behind Yang cried out as a chunk of ice grew out of the back of his helmet, the impact from the Ice round causing him to topple forwards.

"SNIPER!" one of the soldiers shouted, and they all aimed their guns at the trees, prompting Ruby to drop behind the Hard-Light barrier as bullets whizzed through the leaves she had been hiding in.

"You idiots! Focus on the intru-"

_POW!_

Yang punched her out while she was distracted.

"Rose!"

_Crack!_

A lightning round fried his gun, allowing Yang to kick his legs out from under him and elbow him in the midriff.

"Dammit! She keeps dropping behind the barrier!" one of the soldiers shouted as Ruby dropped from the tree-branches again.

"Wait, who's watching the intru-"

_Ka-click!_

"Ah shi-"

_BOOM!_

The soldiers were clumped close enough together to get blasted into the barrier by a single explosive round.

"Is that all you got?" Yang taunted.

"There she is!" a soldier shouted as another dozen soldiers and another dozen drones charged right towards her.

"Apparently not!" Yang observed as she threw her arms out behind her.

_BOOM!_

Yang rocketed towards the next wave, winding up a punch as her eyes turned red and her hair burst into flame.

_POW!_

A golden fireball tore right through the group, before skidding to a halt behind them, Yang glaring at the still standing soldiers as the broken pieces of a couple of Atlesian Knights rolled to a halt around her, before wincing and covering her injury.

"End of the line, Valean bi-"

_CRACK!_

An ice round struck the side of the soldier's gun, frosting it over.

"What the-"

_CRACK!_

The soldier was knocked to the ground by a chunk of ice.

"Dammit! Would somebody take care of that sniper!"

_BOOM!_

Yang rocketed towards that soldier and punched him in the face, elbowed a neighboring soldier in the gut, kicked the legs out from under an Atlesian Knight, and got pistol-whipped by another Atlesian Soldier.

"We should've broken your legs before sending you home," she growled as she pointed her gun at Yang's head, "This is for getting me in trouble with the Specialist!"

_BANG!_

Yang's Aura absorbed the shock from the bullet, keeping her head from exploding.

"You done?" Yang snarled as her eyes turned red and fire ran down her hair.

"Uh…"

_BOOM!_

Yang's punch sent the soldier flying straight into the hard-light barrier as another pulled a knife and charged her. Yang simply bent down and tossed him over her shoulder using his own momentum, knocking him into one of his companions, before rocketing towards and bowling over two Atlesian Knights, before turning to face the rest of the soldiers who were pointing their guns at her.

"OH TO HELL WITH THIS!" the soldier who tried to blast Yang's head open shouted as she pulled out her Scroll and tapped the screen several times, "We brought the Spider Droid for a reason!"

"Rose! What the hell?" the soldier who'd tried to stab Yang shouted as the sound of mechanical whirring grew louder. Yang hazarded a glance over her shoulder, and saw a black mech with red circuits walk out from behind the hangar. It had four legs, two arms that ended in massive cannons, and two more cannons mounted on its shoulders. The blond brawler whirled around to fire two shots at the robotic behemoth.

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Before the smoke cleared, two white beams shot out at Yang.

"Eep!" Yang jumped back as the smoke cleared to reveal that the Spider Droid wasn't even dented. The first blast missed, but the second didn't, knocking Yang onto her back and aggravating her wound. Yang bit down her pain and launched herself at the mech, delivering a flurry of punches that concluded with an explosion that launched her away. One of the mech's gun-arms swatted her to the ground. Yang tried to push herself up, only for one of the mechanical legs to kick her into one of the hard-light generators. The Atlesian Soldiers pointed their guns at the girl from Patch as she struggled to her feet.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Yang's eyes were wide open as she threw her arms out behind her.

_BOOM!_

The explosion tilted the generator, causing the hard-light barrier to flicker as Yang rocketed forwards, the Atlesian Soldiers riddling their own perimeter barrier generator with bullets.

"CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE!" the soldiers stopped firing, smoke rising from the severely damaged hard-light generator as the field flickered far more rapidly. If the Spider Droid could understand that command, it couldn't, as it had already combined all four cannons and begun charging the laser attack.

" _SHIT!_ " Yang crossed her arms in front of herself as the weapon fired, before she was engulfed by the beam. " _ **AAAAAUGH!"**_

The beam tore right through the hard-light generator, blowing it apart as it tore through the earth beneath it, toppling several nearby trees and bringing down the entire perimeter barrier. Only then did the Spider Droid cease fire and separate its four cannons.

" _YANG!_ " Ruby screamed as she dropped from the treetops to dash at the smoking crater the blast created.

" _You'll be reunited with her in the pits of Hell soon enough!_ " Rose shouted as she pointed her gun at the other girl.

_FWOOM!_

A pillar of golden flames dispelled the smoke.

"What the-"

_Ka-click!_

_BOOM!_

A golden fireball shot out of the crater and tore through the Spider Droid's chassis, piercing its torso before skidding to a halt on the opposite side.

_**BOOM!** _

The Spider Droid erupted into fire and shrapnel, destroying the remaining Atlesian Knights and sending the soldiers flying.

Yang panted as she dropped to her knees, broken robot pieces raining from the sky around her, her stab-wound burning from the strenuous battle. She risked a glance at her Scroll, and noticed that her Aura had been reduced to a thin, red sliver on the display.

"You know, I wonder if you still have enough Aura to survive a headshot," a woman's voice said. Yang shut off her Scroll and glanced over her shoulder to see the same woman who had called the Spider Droid approaching and reloading her gun.

"Wanna risk it?" Yang asked with a smirk she hoped didn't look too forced. At that, the woman sprouted a predatory grin.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," she taunted as she pointed her gun at Yang's face and put her finger on the trigger, "Goodbye!" Yang closed her eyes.

_BANG!_

_Clink!_

Yang opened her eyes.

"I won't let you hurt her," Ruby growled after deflecting the bullet.

"... Okay, I'll just kill both of you then," the soldier decided as more soldiers surrounded them.

_**BOOM!** _

The shutter door to the hanger was torn off its hinges by an explosive blast, grabbing the attention of the gathered soldiers.

Ruby helped her sister up, and both of their eyes widened as Shatter stepped out of the hangar. Without a word, Ruby activated Petal Burst and dashed to the wall of the hangar, pressing herself and Yang against it so Shatter wouldn't be able to see them.

"Hey, what the hell are you-"

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Shatter replied, "Send Mortilus my regards."

Yang covered Ruby's mouth and her own, resisting the urge to scream as the soldiers' bodies were torn apart by the Energon blasts. Soon the smell of burning flesh filled the air as the airfield was riddled with charred bones and half-melted corpses.

Neither had time to process the massacre they had just witnessed before hearing another set of mechanical footsteps.

"You didn't leave any for me?" Dropkick whined as Yang froze.

"You need to save your ammo for the Autobots," Shatter replied as Ruby took her sister's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

 _They got the_ Ark's _coordinates_ , Yang realized, _They know where the_ Ark _is. There's going to be a whole army of Dropkicks rampaging across Remnant, and there's nothing I can do about it!_

_CLANG!_

Yang's hyperventilating stopped as she heard a familiar voice hiss in pain.

"Ah, B-127, I almost forgot about you!" Shatter commented.

"I didn't," Dropkick replied.

_**BOOM!** _

Ruby clamped her hand down over Yang's mouth, muffling her sister's voice as they both heard a short cry of pain, followed by a machine shutting down.

"Let's see Ratchet patch that up!" Dropkick laughed.

"A fitting end for the traitor who got us into this mess," Shatter chuckled, "Come on now! Let's decapitate the Autobot Resistance once and for all!"

The two sisters remained still as they both heard the now-familiar sound of transformation, followed by two airships taking flight. A red Atlesian Dropship and a blue Bullhead took flight, and Yang tore her sister's hand off of her mouth and ran around the corner and into the hangar itself, her heart stopping as her eyes fell on the mangled scrapheap in the middle of the room.

* * *

The pile of debris that used to be Winter's office shifted as frosty Beowolves dug through the rubble. Eventually, one of them was able to pull Specialist Winter Schnee out of the mess.

"That could have gone better," She groaned as she pushed herself to her feet and dismissed the Beowolves, "If I chase them in the airship, I should have time to…" her voice trailed off.

The Autobot was laying on the ground, covered in a pink liquid, smoke rising from the burn mark on his chest, his once-glowing eyes now dimmed and staring off into nothing.

Winter was pulled back into reality by the sound of an anguished scream, and glanced over to see Yang Xiao Long fall to her knees and start crying.

 _How did she-_ Rather than dwell on that thought, Winter jumped down from the ruins of her office, using her Glyphs as stepping stones to slow her descent, before dashing out of the hangar, trying to ignore the glare from the scarred face of the silver eyed girl.

"Men, we need to-" her orders died in her throat as her eyes fell on burned and molten remains of her soldiers. "I… My airship, I can still catch up to them!" She dashed away from the carnage.

"Yang…" Ruby started as Winter's airship took flight, "We need to warn Ozpin."

"What can _he_ do?" Yang asked, "We don't even know where the Decepticons are going!"

"We need to do _something!_ " Ruby argued, "We're not helping anyone by just sitting here doing nothing! He wouldn't have wanted…" Her voice trailed off as Yang pushed her hand off her shoulder and stood up. "Yang?" Ruby questioned as her sister walked over to Bumblebee's broken body.

"I have an idea," Yang replied as she took off her backpack and placed it on the ground, "I packed the tools I use to clean and repair Ember Celica. You go and bring me engines, servos, circuit boards, anything you can salvage from the tech that got smashed up during the fight. I'm going to try and stop the bleeding."

"Yang… What are you-"

"I don't know if we can fix him, or if he's already gone," Yang replied as she knelt down next to Bumblebee and took several tools out of her backpack, "But we owe it to him to try!" Yang took a deep breath. "I need some spare parts to fix him with, and we don't have a lot of time, so go!"

Ruby saluted her sister, dispersed into petals, and flew away. Yang took a deep breath.

"Well… Here goes nothing," she stated, "Hopefully I don't mess this up even worse…"

And the surgery began.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the note I was originally going to close on, but this felt like a more natural stopping point.  
> Just three more chapters everyone! And the next chapter is ANOTHER one I've been looking forward to writing for quite some time! See you all then!


	14. Chapter 13: New Solutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this took a bit more effort than I originally intended it to.
> 
> TW: This chapter contains depictions of domestic violence, and references to pedophilia and human trafficking.

Sienna Khan sat down in a seat at the small table that had been set up on the catwalk on the _Darksyde's_ bridge, her personal guards eying the large, lion-skinned robot standing in the middle of the dark room with unease.

"Well?" she questioned.

"According to Starscream, the responsible Decepticons have been punished for their actions," Razorclaw stated as he turned away from the monitor of the _Darksyde's_ computer, his glowing, pink eyes meeting Sienna's glare, "Of course, knowing Starscream, I wouldn't expect much more than a reprimanding or a demotion."

"And why didn't you see fit to warn me about these other Eukarians who can disguise themselves as vehicles?" Sienna questioned, an edge to her voice, "You're one of the few people I consider a friend Razorclaw, and you know how rare a commodity trust is in this world."

"It was a treaty issue," Razorclaw replied, "One of the terms of my alliance with the Decepticons is that I couldn't reveal their existence to the inhabitants of worlds they infiltrate. As I have no real authority over the Decepticons as a faction, the most I could do was put in a request that the White Fang be left untouched. Also, let me make one thing clear." His voice lowered to a growl. "The Decepticons never have been and never will be Eukarians. We are to the Transformers of Cybertron, Velicitron, and Caminus what you Faunus are to the humans of Vale, Mistral, and Atlas: a deviation from what they consider the norm, and as such often end up viewed as lesser for it. If they didn't need us to fight back against the Maximals and their Autobot allies, I'm sure Megatron and his Decepticons would've tried to stab us in the back by now. Of course…" Razorclaw grinned. "I would never bow to a Cybertronian, and Megatron will learn true fear if he ever tries to make me!"

"I see…" Sienna said, apparently placated, "The Maximals I'm familiar with, they've been causing trouble in Menagerie for months now, but what about these Autobots?"

"As you no doubt surmised from your conversation with Adam, they are the Decepticons' enemies, ruled over by Optimus Prime," Razorclaw explained, "Whereas the Decepticons, much like your White Fang, tried to overthrow the tyrannical Functionists, the Autobots instead chose to climb the ranks, and that coward Lio Convoy betrayed our ancestors by siding with the very Primes who once exiled us!" He slammed his fist against his desk. "My Predacons would never bow to a Cybertronian the way those Maximals did, and so we aligned ourselves with the Autobots' enemies to drive them off of our world!"

"So it's the old 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' scenario?" Sienna remarked, "But why are the Decepticons here?"

"Simple, while we Predacons established our footing here first, one of our own uncovered a Decepticon stasis pod," Razorclaw answered, "Ultimately, the treaty required that we share this planet, though I don't believe that will last for long."

"Now, why is that?" a new voice asked. Sienna rose to her feet as her guards pointed their weapons at the speaker. He was preached on the guard rails, a trench coat draped over his shoulders, and a scorpion tail curled behind him.

"What do you want?" Razorclaw asked. The scorpion-tailed man giggled and jumped onto the catwalk.

"Starscream thought it best to send one of his allies over to smooth over any rough edges left by his subordinate's short-sighted actions," he answered as he stepped towards Sienna, "So, he sent yours truly to officially bring the White Fang into our little Anti Autobot Alliance." He came to a stop and nudged one of Sienna's guard's spears out of the way. "Which is especially important now that we know that Optimus Prime himself is here."

"I wasn't aware that Megatron had decided to work with the locals," Razorclaw commented.

"He didn't, Starscream took initiative while he was away," the stranger replied, "I just took the Groundbridge over here to deal with any remaining bad blood."

"And who are you, exactly?" Sienna Khan questioned as she put a hand on the chain of _Cerebus Whip_.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" the stranger said, before bowing. "Please, call me Zarak."

* * *

Ruby dashed around the airfield, picking up whatever Yang asked for. She took motors from the wreckage of the Knights, power cores and Burn Dust from what was left of the Spider Droid, and gathered up bits and pieces of the busted hard-light generator. What Ruby couldn't find (such as a blowtorch), Yang would jury-rig from random bits of scrap metal and Dust Ruby brought back.

As for Yang, she reconnected wires, tightened bolts and screws, detached and reattached plates as necessary, and even resorted to welding when all other forms of repair failed to stop the bleeding.

"Now what?" Ruby asked. Bumblebee's body was now more-or-less intact, the Autobot laying on his back with his arms at his sides. The bleeding had stopped, but Yang's clothes were covered in pink stains.

"Remember when we helped Dad jump-start Zippy?" Yang asked.

"Yeah?" Ruby replied.

"I think we might end up having to do the same thing to Bumblebee," Yang replied, "Do you have any Lightning Dust I could use?"

"... Erm… I have some Lightning Rounds?" Ruby offered up as she pulled out a Lightning Ammo Clip, "But… The Dust is kinda already inside the munition shells _with_ the bullets, so I'm not sure if you can get the Dust out without shocking yourself."

"... Great… Just…" Yang sighed, before picking at the top of the clip, "Well! I'm dead either way, so-".

"Wait!" Ruby interrupted as she snatched the ammo clip out of Yang's hands, "Why don't we just use a battery from one of the Atlesian Knights?" Ruby asked as she motioned to the pile of Atlesian Knights that had been smashed and/or dismantled to varying degrees.

"... Okay then," Yang exhaled, "I thought I saw a jumper cable laying around here somewhere…"

* * *

"Let's see, the G1-Dustfire's battery goes _here_ -" Yang gently removed a metal plate on Bumblebee's body, exposing a mundane vehicle battery in the midst of almost organic-looking machinery, "-when he's in robot mode…"

"The first Knight is ready to go!" Ruby shouted as she put on insulated gloves. Yang nodded and removed _Ember Celica_ from her wrists ("Don't want to take any chances with how explosive Combustion Dust can be.") and put on her own pair of insulated gloves as Ruby connected the two clamps on her end of the jumper cable to the Atlesian Knight's battery.

"Let's see, positive-to-positive," Yang connected the positive alligator clip to the corresponding protrusion on the battery, "Negative-to-ground." She attached the negative clip to Bumblebee's armor plating. "And now!"

Ruby connected two of the Atlesian Knight's wires, and it's visor and Bumblebee's eyes both flashed for a few seconds. Both robots twitched for half a minute, before the Atlesian Knight abruptly shut off.

"It's battery's drained!"

"Then hook up the next one!" Yang shouted before turning to face Bumblebee, "Hang in there, Bee."

* * *

The second Atlesian Knight crumpled, it's battery drained, and Bumblebee powered back down.

* * *

The third Atlesian Knight collapsed, it's battery drained, and Bumblebee powered back down.

* * *

The fifth Atlesian Knight shut down, it's battery drained, and Bumblebee powered back down.

* * *

The tenth Knight's battery only lasted for a second, and Bumblebee powered back down.

* * *

The fifteenth Knight shut off almost immediately.

* * *

Ruby had lost count in the monotony as the last of the knights went limp, it's battery completely expended, the sky outside slowly brightening.

"... Yang… Did it…" Ruby's voice trailed off as Yang disconnected the jumper cable on her end, "Is he…"

"I don't… He's not…" Yang sighed, "I'm sorry Bee. I really thought I could…"

"Ugh…" a familiar voice groaned as Bumblebee's finger twitched, and the sky outside began to brighten.

Bumblebee groaned, his vision somewhat pixelated as he finally reactivated.

"That could've gone better," he mumbled as he tried to push himself up-

"BUMBLEBEE!" Only for two pixelated blurs to latch onto him, knocking him back to the ground.

"What the- Mortillus?" The Autobot Scout's vision cleared, and the pixelated blobs became recognizeable, "Wait, Yang? Ruby? How did you-"

"We got here a bit before Dropkick shot you-" Ruby explained as several warnings flashed across Bumblebee's HUD.

_PSF Charge: 15%_

_Danger!: Energon Levels Critically Low!_

_Chassis Panel Missing!_

"Wait! Why is part of my chassis-"

"Oh grapes! I forgot to reattach that!" Yang shouted as she let go of Bumblebee and dashed over to the metal plate lying on the ground, "Sorry about that Bee, I kinda had to remove this to recharge you and I… Uh… Forgot to reattach it in the excitement when you woke up."

"Well… Uh… Thanks," Bumblebee muttered as Yang popped the panel back into place. The Autobot scout did a quick diagnostic scan, "Huh… You did a surprisingly good job considering that you have no medical training."

"... I _am_ at the top of Signal's Engineering class," Yang replied with a smirk.

"... Maybe I should see if Ratchet can give you some actual medical training when we find the- OH SCRAP!" Bumblebee tried to jump to his feet, but hissed in pain and dropped to his knees.

"Bumblebee, be careful!" Yang shouted.

"There's no time, the Decepticons know where the _Ark_ is," Bumblebee explained, "We have to get to Vytal, and fast!"

"Okay!" Ruby remarked as she took out her Scroll, "I'll just call Ozpin and tell him what's-"

"NO!" Bumblebee snapped, "The Decepticons have tapped into your communication system! If you try to contact him, Shatter and Dropkick will be able to set a trap for whoever he sends in!"

"Well what do you suggest we do?" Yang asked, "Sit here and welcome our new metal overlords?"

"No, we have the element of surprise," Bumblebee replied, "If we can get in an airship, we can fly straight to Vytal and ambush the Decepticons."

"Just one problem," Ruby started, "Winter took the only Airship here to chase the Shatter and dropkick."

"... Well, she's a goner," Bumblebee dryly remarked.

"Any other ideas?" Yang asked.

Bumblebee sat down and brought a hand to his chin.

_PSF Charge: 20%_

"We didn't come this far just to give up now!" Ruby stated, "We have to figure something out."

"Ruby, what are the odds that someone's going to just drop off a Bullhead for us to-"

"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

Yang whirled to face the entrance as the laughter increased in pitch, her train of thought derailed.

"Who's…" Ruby unfolded _Crescent Rose_ into sniper rifle mode and walked up to the threshold to peek out as Yang took off her insulated gloves and picked up _Ember Celica_.

* * *

Blake stared over the carnage, fighting to keep the contents of her stomach from coming up as birds picked at the corpses.

"This! This is just _perfect!_ " Adam said as soon as he was done laughing, tears rolling down his face, "Here I was, prepared for a massive battle, only to find that these stupid humans already bit off more than they could chew!" He laughed a bit more. "It's about time that things started to go my way! Maybe this week isn't so shitty after all?"

"What now sir?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Atlas doesn't care about casualties," Adam replied, "The men are expendable, easy to replace, but the base isn't. Humans are heartless. We'll have to take their power for ourselves if we ever want to be free." Blake tore her eyes away from the corpses, and noticed something peeking out of the hangar.

"Adam, we aren't the only ones here," she stated.

"Hmm?"

_CRACK!_

A flaming bullet shot out of the hangar, only to get caught on the flat side of _Wilt_.

"If you value your lives, I suggest you show yourself!" Adam shouted, "Or you can stay where you are, and let us come to you! The choice is yours!"

* * *

"What's _he_ doing here?" Yang hissed as Ruby ducked back into the hangar.

"It doesn't matter," Bumblebee declared as he tried to push himself to his feet, "I've beaten him twice, I can do it a third tiAUGH!" Bumblebee fell to his knees. "Scrap! That hurts!"

"You're in no condition to fight," Ruby stated, "Just leave this to me and Yang until your Aura's recharged."

"But-"

"Bumblebee, he made you bleed through your Aura back at _Witwicky's_ ," Yang stated, "If you get hit by his Semblance like _this_!" She motioned to his battered body. "You _will_ die."

Bumblebee growled as he flopped on the floor.

"Yang and I can be pretty fast when we need to be," Ruby promised, "Me especially! We'll keep them busy until your Aura's recharged! Then you can wipe the floor with him."

"... I hate this," Bumblebee groaned.

"We'll be fine," Yang promised.

"We're waiting!" Adam's voice echoed.

"Here goes nothing," Ruby stated as she stepped over the threshold, Yang following closely afterwards.

* * *

Ruby stepped out in front of the hangar, standing on the downed shutter door, followed closely by her sister as the White Fang gathered around Adam, his Lieutenant, and Blake.

"If it isn't the human from the dealership and her…" Adam drew a blank as he stared at Ruby, "Daughter? Girlfriend? Seriously, who the Hell are you?"

"Oh, so _now_ you want to know my name?" Ruby shouted.

"It's not really that important," Adam replied, "A human's a human, as far as I'm concerned."

"What are you doing here, Adam?" Yang asked as she raised her fists.

"Official White Fang business," Adam answered, "Once I destroy this base, the Atlesian Military will officially have no way to operate on my turf."

"Patch doesn't belong to you!" Ruby shouted as she unfurled _Crescent Rose_ into scythe mode.

"Typical human sentiment," the Lieutenant scoffed, "You think you can drive us into the wilderness, but the great Adam Taurus shall lead our people to glory!"

"... You know, Winter Schnee said something similar about Ironwood and Atlas last night," Yang remarked.

"NEVER COMPARE ME TO ONE OF THOSE DAMNED SCHNEES AGAIN!" the Lieutenant roared, "I WILL TEAR YOU APART! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"... Kinda hard not to…" Ruby deadpanned.

"Judging by the kid's face, I'm guessing that your run-in with Specialist Schnee didn't end well for you," Blake remarked, "Our business here is with Atlas. You don't have to get hurt if you leave now and let us do our jobs."

"Sorry, but even if I'm not a big fan of Atlas, I can't let you near that hangar," Yang stated.

"And how do you intend to stop us?" Adam asked, "There are two of you, and twenty-three of us." The masked swordsman chuckled. "And where's your robot boyfriend? Is he rusting in the scrapyard?"

"That's none of your business," Yang growled through gritted teeth.

"In case you haven't noticed, I have a score to settle with that wretched machine, so I'd say it is!" Adam replied as he unsheathed his blade and pointed it at Yang, "But seeing how it seems to have a soft spot for you humans, I suppose I can make you scream until it comes to your rescue."

"He's not an it!" Yang shouted, before punching an explosive round at Adam.

_BOOM!_

"Temper temper," Adam chided as the smoke cleared and he sheathed his blade. He held his sheath by his hip as his Aura flared up, his hair and the red markings on his mask and clothes glowing as he was silhouetted by the hellish surge of power.

"Adam! That's not nece-"

Adam interrupted Blake's objection with a roar as he unsheathed his blade, sending a wave of red energy at Ruby and Yang, who vanished into a burst of petals to swerve out of the way. The wave sliced through the now-empty air until it destroyed a Hard-Light Generator and the tree behind it.

Yang stumbled out of the cloud of petals as they reformed into Ruby, who stumbled towards the twenty-two Faunus behind Adam and unfolded _Crescent Rose_ into Scythe Mode. The silver-eyed girl let out a war cry as she swung her sniper scythe at the crowd behind Adam. Blake fizzled out of existence as the White Fang stumbled and ducked out of the way of the blunt side of _Crescent Rose_ , Adam dashing away from the crowd in the chaos.

_CRACK!_

Ruby recoil boosted into the crowd, swatting and batting the figures away.

_BANG!_

Ruby flinched as Blake's bullet grazed her shoulder from behind and the masked Faunus dispersed to surround her.

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it..." Ruby's musing was cut off as the Lieutenant revved up his chainsaw and charged her with a roar. Ruby swatted the side of his head with _Crescent Rose_ as the rest of the masked figures opened fire. "Eep!" Ruby spun _Crescent Rose_ around herself as she tried to block, deflect, and dodge the bullets that were raining down on her. When she tried to knock over a shorter White Fang grunt, a black ribbon wrapped around _Crescent Rose's_ shaft. "Woah!" Ruby exclaimed as Blake pulled on the ribbon, turning Crescent Rose towards her.

"Gotcha!" Blake exclaimed as Ruby stared between her scythe and the woman it was now pointed at.

_CRACK!_

Ruby pulled her weapon free as Blake lost her grip on her ribbon, sending the older girl's chain scythe tumbling onto the ground behind her, before recoil boosting towards Blake.

"Hi-yah!" Ruby swung Crescent Rose at Blake, only for the girl to fizzle out of existence. "Again?"

_BANG!_

Ruby squealed and ducked as the _real_ Blake fired her weapon.

"Look kid, you and your sister are outnumbered and outmatched," she stated, "Just cut your losses and go home, we don't want to hurt you."

"Speak for yourself," Adam's Lieutenant snarled as he walked up next to Blake, "I want to use her to paint the trees red!"

"She's a _child!_ " Blake protested.

"She's a _human!_ " Adam's Lieutenant screamed.

_CRACK!_

Adam's Lieutenant was struck in the chest by a flaming bullet.

"Look, Yang and I aren't going anywhere until we can find a way to chase down the Decepticons," Ruby stated, "They're the real enemies here!"

"Empty words from a cowardly little brat!" Adam's Lieutenant roared as he charged Ruby.

"Schwarz, wait!" Blake shouted as she ran after him.

Ruby scanned the White Fang and a horrible question crossed her mind.

_Where did that creep, Adam go?_

"Well this is off to a stellar start," Yang groaned as she pushed herself off the ground. She turned her attention to the White Fang, where Ruby was bashing assailants left and right with _Crescent Rose_. "I can't get a clear shot while she's- Wait, where's-"

_CRACK!_

Yang was knocked on her side as the hilt of Adam's blade struck the side of her head.

"Well, you're not as lively as you were the last time we met," Adam remarked as he resheathed his blade. Yang glared at Adam as she pushed herself to her feet, briefly wincing in pain as Adam seemed to glance over her, before grinning. "If you weren't human, I'd feel bad for what I'm about to do."

_Ka-click!_

"No you wouldn't," Yang snarled.

_BOOM!_

Yang rocketed towards Adam-

_Clink!_

-who caught her punch on the flat side of his blade and swatted her away with a slash of his katana.

"You know, very few humans are lucky enough to walk away from one fight with me, let alone two," Adam remarked as Yang hissed in pain, "They say that third time's the charm." He lunged forward with a slash, forcing Yang to slide back, his katana slicing through the air a few inches from her neck. Adam raised his katana to jab at her, and Yang swept his legs out from under him before pushing herself back to her feet.

Adam snarled and pointed his scabbard at the scar on Yang's midsection.

_CRACK!_

The hilt of his blade struck the scar, causing Yang to hiss in pain as Adam grabbed his blade.

" _Scream!_ " Adam ordered as he slashed across Yang's torso, knocking her to the ground, and jabbed the tip of his blade into her scar.

Ruby swatted Lieutenant Schwarz away as she heard the scream, glancing over her shoulder in time to see Adam flicking blood off of his blade, Yang's stab wound now reopened.

"Yang!" she shouted before dispersing into petals.

* * *

Bumblebee collapsed to the ground as his chassis convulsed.

"C'mon, transform dammit!" he groaned, "I need to get out there!"

 _They're going to die, and you'll have nobody but yourself to blame_ , Megatron's voice taunted, _You can't save anyone, you useless, cold-constructed, piece of scrap!_

"Who asked you?" Bumblebee growled, even as his conversion joints refused to unlock.

* * *

"How unfortunate," Adam remarked as he raised his blade, oblivious to the silver-eyed girl standing behind him, "You're gonna die screaming, all alone…" He brought his blade down, only for it to get caught on a crescent shaped blade. "Wha-"

_CRACK!_

The recoil from _Crescent Rose_ ripped the blade from Adam's grasp as Ruby spun her weapon around and swatted him in the side of his head before dashing to pick up the red katana laying on the ground.

"Why you little-" Adam growled as he rose to his feet, rubbing the side of his head, "Give _Wilt_ back!"

"Come and get it yourself!" Ruby taunted as she dispersed into petals and flew off into the woods.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted as Adam roared and dashed into the woods after her younger sister, "No…" Yang forced herself to her feet, and got ready to launch herself into the woods, only to get hit by a barrage of bullets from the White Fang. With a snarl, Yang turned her now-red eyes towards the White Fang, and threw her fists behind her.

_BOOM!_

She launched herself into the air above the White Fang as they kept firing after her, rolled up a punch, and rocketed towards the ground in the middle of the crowd as her hair burst into flames.

_**BOOM!** _

Blake landed on her feet as her brothers and sisters in arms struck the ground around her. She narrowed her eyes at the currently red-eyed human and dashed towards her. The blond human looked up and threw a punch at Blake, who smirked and activated her Semblance. An explosive bullet whizzed through empty air as Blake charged her left side. Yang whirled around and parried her katana-slice with her shot gauntlet.

"Everything was so _simple_ before you came along!" Blake shouted as she pushed her weight into the blade.

"You're the one working with the guy who's willing to let the whole world burn just to settle a grudge match!" Yang refuted, before throwing a punch with her free hand. Blake dodged with her Semblance and kicked Yang in the scar. She winced when the girl cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, particularly when she noticed that she had drawn blood even through the human's Aura, but pushed those thoughts to the back of her head as her brothers and sisters armed themselves and pointed their weapons at the downed human.

"You've lost," Blake stated as she shifted _Gambol Shroud_ into gun mode and pointed it at the human, "I don't want to hurt anyone, but you will be hurt if you keep pushing yourself like this." The golden flames burned out as the human's eyes shifted back to lilac.

"It's not about winning," she stated, "Please, just let me go get my sister. She's only fourteen! Adam will kill her if I don't do anything."

 _He'd never kill a child_ , is what Blake wanted to say as most of the Faunus wavered at that declaration.

"So?" Schwarz asked as he brandished his chainsaw, "You humans have no compunctions of killing or harming us Faunus while we're children." He motioned to the shortest of the present Faunus. "River's village murdered his parents and tried to drown him before we rescued him! It's only fair that we return the favor and strike your young down before you can grow old enough to enslave us!" Five of the Faunus under their command voiced their agreement, while the rest (including River himself) had varying looks of disgust and horror visible even through their masks.

" _What the Hell is wrong with you?_ " one of them shouted.

"What, don't you care about the cause?" Schwarz asked.

"Yeah, and I don't see how _murdering children_ helps us!" the Faunus shot back as she stepped forwards, "Seriously, if we go around killing kids, all we're going to do is create martyrs!"

"Speaking of kids, why'd we bring River?" another Faunus asked, "I didn't say anything because nobody else objected, but isn't it kinda irresponsible to take a pre-teen to fight Ironwood's savages?"

"I wanted to go to Menagerie, but Adam said that I owed the White Fang and that I'd have to pay them back," River piped up.

"Oh shut-up you ingrate!" Schwarz snapped, "We've all had to suffer to earn our freedom, so I don't see why you shoul-"

" _He's even younger than my brother was!_ " another Faunus spoke up, "He shouldn't have to 'earn' a chance at a stable home! He didn't choose to join up!"

"So we need to be sure that he can be trusted before we let him return to our homeland!" Schwarz snapped, "Who's side are you on?"

"I'm on the side of Faunus-kind!" the Faunus woman snapped back as Blake realized that, beyond River, Adam, and Schwarz, she didn't know any of their names, "And I don't see how blowing up this hangar would've made things any better for the Faunus who'd end up caught in the crossfire when Atlas retaliates!"

"Some sacrifices will have to be made for victory!"

"So we should just sacrifice the Faunus who can't fight!"

"If they won't stand with us, then they deserve to die with the humans they've betrayed us to!"

The arguing continued as Blake lowered Gambol Shroud, watching the chaos unfold as one thought overwhelmed all of her others.

 _I want to go home_.

* * *

Ruby dashed through the forest, sparing the occasional glance over her shoulder, dispersing into petals for a boost of speed whenever Adam's masked face got too close.

_CRACK!_

Ruby yelped as she felt the bullet graze her thigh, and was about to turn around to return fire when she felt a tug on her cape.

" _Aiyee!"_ the silver-eyed girl shouted as she activated her Semblance to disperse into a cloud of petals and escape. Unfortunately, as Adam was holding on to her cape, he became a part of the cloud as well. The red blob shot through the air and towards a rock where it reformed, and Adam grabbed ahold of Ruby's waist and landed on his feet. The two dispersed into a cloud of petals once more and rocketed towards a tree. Adam's back hit the tree, and his free hand grabbed ahold of Ruby's wrist before they dispersed into petals again. The cloud slammed into the ground, and Adam released Ruby's waist. When she tried to pull her arm free, he rose as well.

"Let go!" Ruby shouted as she tried to throw a punch at Adam with her free hand. Adam swatted her hand away and grabbed ahold of her face.

"Never," he promised as he tightened his grip on both her wrist and face. Ruby tried licking his hand, and he simply tightened his grip. She grabbed a hold of his wrist with her freehand and tried to dig her nails into his skin. Adam simply shoved her to the ground with his full weight, released her face, and grabbed ahold of her other wrist to pin her to the ground. "Can't you see that there's no escape for you?" Adam asked, "You're going to _die screaming_ kid! And mommy and daddy won't even be able to recognize what's left of you by the time I'm done!" Ruby activated her Semblance, and a cloud of petals shot directly into the air past the tree tops, illuminated by the rising sun. When the duo reformed, Ruby released _Wilt_ , forcing Adam to let go of her wrists to grab it, allowing her to retrieve _Crescent Rose_ and fire it at the ground once, using the recoil to tear herself free from Adam's grip. From there, Ruby dove straight for the treetops, landing and unfolding _Crescent Rose_ into scythe mode as she turned to where she expected Adam to land. The malevolent masked man repositioned himself in mid-air, kicked off of a tree-branch, and threw himself at Ruby with a roar.

_CRACK!_

Ruby recoil-boosted towards him, and sparks flew as their weapons collided. The two kicked away from each other and began to lunge and jump through the trees, the combatants soon becoming two red-and-black blurs as they rushed and dodged at each other, sparks flying whenever the two blurs collided. Eventually, the two of them hit the forest floor, and Adam rushed Ruby once more with a roar as he tried to slash at her. Ruby batted _Wilt_ aside with _Crescent Rose_ , failing to notice that he had a finger on his scabbard's trigger.

_CRACK!_

Ruby shrieked as the shot sent her flying, before jamming her scythe's blade into the ground to slow herself down, kicking up dirt and uprooting some of the foliage in the process, before she skidded to a halt right in front of a large tree. When she noticed that the barrel was pointed at Adam, she reached for the trigger.

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

_Plink!_

_Plink!_

_Plink!_

Adam smirked as he sheathed his blade, and grit his teeth as his entire body was enveloped in a crimson glow.

"Uh oh," Ruby stated as she folded _Crescent Rose_ back into rifle mode. Adam roared and unsheathed his blade, sending an arc of blood-red energy at Ruby, who vanished into a cloud of petals and flew out of the way, Adam's Semblance vanishing into an explosion of splinters as it struck the tree that had been behind Ruby. The silver-eyed girl reformed a couple of feet to the right of where she had been standing as the tree groaned and toppled towards Adam.

_CRASH!_

Ruby took a couple of seconds to steady her breath as she scanned the downed tree for movement. When she saw none, she let out a sigh of relief and switched _Crescent Rose_ back to storage mode and attached it to the back of her belt. The silver-eyed girl turned to walk back to the hangar, only to pause when she heard rustling leaves. She glanced over her shoulder-

"AUGH!"

-just in time to see a roaring Adam lunging straight at her.

Ruby screamed and activated her Semblance, dashing away as Adam's blade slashed through the empty air she had been occupying. She reformed behind a tree to switch _Crescent Rose_ back into scythe mode, only for _Wilt_ to slice right through the trunk. She dashed back towards the hangar, Adam hot on her heels, both of them unaware of the red eyes peering at them from the remaining shadows.

* * *

Yang tuned out the bickering of the White Fang members as she glanced at the hangar.

 _It looks like they don't care about me or Bumblebee at the moment_ , she rationalized as she started to crawl away, _I should be able to sneak off to go help Ru-_

_BANG!_

Yang instinctively yanked her hand back as the ground exploded a few inches away from it.

"You idiots almost let this one get away," one of the Faunus whom had agreed with the Lieutenant's proclamation that they should murder children said as he pointed his still-smoking gun at Yang, "Let's just kill this one and do what we came here to do!" Yang jumped to her feet and threw her arms behind her.

_BOOM!_

Yang rocketed towards him and delivered a punch to his jaw. The four other pro-child murder Faunus pointed their guns at Yang and opened fire. Yang shielded her face (Aura or no, getting shot in the face _hurt_ ), and her eyes turned red as her hair erupted into flames.

_BOOM!_

She launched herself into the two closest, swatting and kicking both away.

_BOOM!_

She knocked down the other two, and heard the roar of the chainsaw. She whirled around and parried the blow with her right gauntlet, sparks flying as the chainsaw's teeth grinded against _Ember Celica_.

"Just let her go, Schwarz!" Blake shouted, "We don't have to kill her to complete our mission!"

"Just who's side are you on? Belladonna!" the Lieutenant snapped. Yang threw a punch at Lieutenant Schwarz's gut to get the chainsaw away. Schwarz snarled and threw himself at her, forcing Yang to roll out of the way.

_Ka-click!_

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Schwarz jumped out of the way of both bullets and charged Yang's left side, forcing the girl to dash away.

"I could use some help here!" Schwarz shouted over his shoulder.

"I still don't see the point of this!" Blake replied, "Adam and I could've taken so much Dust from that SDC cargo-train!"

"Adam didn't train you to think, _girl!_ " Schwarz barked, "Now, learn your place and _obey!_ "

"We're _both_ lieutenants!" Blake shot back.

"Only because you slept your way to the top!" Schwarz snapped as he turned away from Yang, "Unlike you, I _earned_ my place by Adam's side!"

"Hey uh… Excuse me a moment," one of the masked women asked as Yang decided to take the opportunity to sneak her way to the treeline, "How old are you again, Blake?"

"I… Don't see how that's relevant," Blake replied, genuine confusion in her voice as Yang froze.

 _Did… Did Ruby just get chased into the woods by a…_ Yang felt her blood run cold, unwilling to finish that thought.

"Seriously woman, would you stop wasting our time with irrelevant outbursts?!" Schwarz snapped.

"I'm just saying, I'm pretty sure Blake's still Combat School aged, and you just implied that she and Adam are an item!" the woman in question stated, "Meanwhile, while I only learned about this organization after you expanded into Vale and I don't know that much about the Fang's history, I'm pretty sure I overheard how Adam is old enough to be her father's peer."

"Blake is old enough to make her own decisions," Schwarz replied with a scoff.

"Erm, then I think we should forget the human and-"

"Not now, Blake!" Schwarz snapped, "The adults are talking!"

"But you just said she wa-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off when Ruby exploded from the treeline, Adam chasing close behind. Ruby whirled around and tried to strike him with Crescent Rose, only for him to swat Crescent Rose out of the way with _Wilt_.

_CRACK!_

Ruby cried out as Adam shot her with his scabbard, shattering her Aura and sending her tumbling across the ground, Crescent Rose clattering to the ground a few feet away.

"RUBY!" Yang shouted, turning tail to try and dash for her, only for a red and black blur to beat her to the punch.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," Adam warned as he yanked Ruby off the ground, "After all-" He held his blade against Ruby's neck, wrapping his free hand around her waist. "With her Aura depleted, it would only take one slip-up to slice her neck open." Yang growled as she lowered her fists, Schwarz chuckling as Blake starred on in disbelief.

"Adam, what are you-"

"Set the charges!" Adam interrupted as Ruby started to struggle, "And as for you!" He pressed the flat side of his blade against the girl's neck. "Remember what I said about slipping?"

Blake's arms remained limp by her side as she glanced around the field.

Schwarz and the five Faunus Yang had taken down were eagerly placing down charges around the exterior of the hangar.

River and the others seemed more reluctant.

Yang was standing still, her fear plain on her face, her anger and frustration clear in her red eyes.

When she tried to look at Adam, she didn't see his smile.

No, all she could see was the terror in Ruby's silver eyes as he held Wilt against her neck.

_I guess I don't have a choice…_

Ruby stared at Yang as she tried to steady her breath, trying not to shift too much with the red blade pressed against her neck.

 _Even if Bumblebee came charging out of that hangar right now, that wouldn't stop Adam from cutting my head off_ , she realized.

"Adam," Blake started.

"What now?" Adam asked.

"Are you going to let her go once we're done here?" Blake asked. Adam scoffed.

"Of course not!" he answered, "I'll have her sister deliver a ransom note to her family. And if they can't pay, well, I'm sure there are plenty of men in Mistral who'd pay good Lien for a face like-" The blade of a chain scythe hooked onto _Wilt_ right next to Ruby's head, the black ribbon tugging on the trigger.

_BANG!_

It fired a shot directly into Adam's mask, ripping _Wilt_ from his grasp and causing him to let go of Ruby, allowing her to dash away as Blake caught her weapon.

"Oh darling," Ruby heard as she dashed for _Crescent Rose_ , "Why must you hurt me like this?"

"A-Adam I…" Blake stammered out as a cold, blue eye glared at her from the new hole in Adam's mask.

_CRACK!_

Blake cried out as the bullet from _Blush_ struck her.

"After everything I've done for you," Adam continued as he approached her, the pupil in his visible eye dilating, "You attack me! To protect a wretched little hu-"

_BOOM!_

Whatever Adam was about to say was cut off when Yang rocketed into him, and began throwing punches.

"Don't!"

_POW!_

"TOUCH!"

_POW!_

" _MY!"_

_POW!_

" _ **SISTER!"**_

The roar of a chainsaw grabbed Blake's attention.

" _ **TRAITOR!"**_ Schwarz screamed as he charged Blake. Blake yelped and activated her Semblance as she dodged to the right, Schwarz's chainsaw slicing through the hollow decoy. "I'm going to paint this hangar _**RED!**_ " Schwarz snapped as he turned to face her. However, he was bombarded with gunfire before he could get anywhere near her.

"You okay?" one of the masked Faunus asked as she lowered her gun, Schwarz struggling to stand.

"You… You dare to betray the White Fang?" he snarled, " _Kill the betrayers!"_

"You… You realize that you and Adam only have five guys on your side, right?" another Faunus asked as most of the present Faunus pointed their guns at Schwarz.

"... Shit…"

Blake's attention shifted back to Adam, just in time to watch as Yang delivered punch after punch to Adam's face, chest, and gut, before finally firing off an explosive round that launched him away from her. Yang's hair erupted into flames and she rocketed towards him with a scream. Adam dashed out of the way, leaving Yang to punch empty air as he grabbed _Wilt_ and leveled a glare at Blake.

"Nobody betrays me and _lives_!" he announced before charging right at her.

Blake raised Gambol Shroud and pulled the trigger.

_BANG!_

He deflected the first shot as Blake thought she heard shifting metal.

_BANG!_

He deflected the second shot as she heard the roar of an engine, though Blake was too focused on the cold, blue eye glaring into her soul to notice the yellow motorcycle speeding out of the hangar.

_BANG!_

Adam deflected the third shot, he and Blake both oblivious to the motorcycle unfolding into a bipedal form.

"DIE!" Adam ordered as he swung his sword at Blake's neck.

_CLANG!_

A glowing, blue blade intercepted _Wilt_.

"Now is that any way to treat your cojunx, Adam?" Bumblebee asked, a smile on his face and an edge to his voice, "Because I think you need a short, _sharp_ lesson in etiquette." A battle mask closed over Bumblebee's face as Adam's eye widened in terror. "Let's begin!" A flick of Bumblebee's Energon blade launched Adam into the air, allowing the Autobot scout to deliver a punch to the airborne Faunus' chest, sending him tumbling across the field and skidding to a halt near the treeline. Bumblebee casually changed his blade out for his Energon shotgun as Adam stumbled to his feet.

_BANG!_

Adam yelped and held up his katana and scabbard in front of himself, catching the Energon blast on the broadside of his blade before sheathing it.

"Lieutenant!" Adam called as he seethed with rage, "How many betrayed us."

"Sixteen if we count Blake," Adam's Lieutenant shot back.

"... Then we'll bring their heads back to camp as a warning," Adam replied with a grin as Bumblebee deployed both of his Energon blades, Ruby pointed her sniper rifle at Adam, Yang raised her fists, "We'll need an example of what happens to those who betray our cause."

"How does selling a girl into _slavery_ help our cause?" Blake shouted.

"This won't be humanity's world for much longer, Blake," Adam replied, "I'm going to teach the human race what it's like to be the slaves!"

"I never wanted conquest, I wanted equality!" Blake shouted.

" _What you want is **impossible!**_ " Adam screamed as he tightened his grip on his katana, enveloping himself in a flare of Hellish light, unaware of the red eyes staring down at him from the shadows, "I've suffered in silence for long enough! And it's high time that I get what I deser-"

An Alpha Beowolf lunged from the shadows and bit down on Adam's shoulder.

"ADAM!" the Lieutenant shouted as the Grimm lifted the screaming terrorist off the ground. Adam's flailing launched a red arc of energy harmlessly into the sky as the Grimm dragged him into the woods, more bursting from the treeline to meet Adam's loyalists as they chased after him. Soon, more Grimm crawled out of the woodwork, and a new battle began in earnest.

* * *

"Are we all okay?" Bumblebee asked as the last Grimm dissolved.

"I think my Aura's starting to recharge," Ruby explained, "But there were _way_ too many close calls."

"I think we did pretty good, considering that we were up against two of the three Alphas that've been terrorizing the island," Yang replied, "And I _think_ the third one took care of Adam for us! Speaking of…" She turned to Blake. "How are you holding up?"

"I… Why do you care?" Blake replied.

"Let's see…" Yang started, "For one, you saved my sister's life!"

"Thanks for that, by the way!" Ruby chimed in.

"For another," Yang continued, "even if you didn't have that going for you, I can't stand guys like that, and I cannot imagine what dating him must have been like."

"I'll… I'll be okay," Blake insisted as she sheathed her katana, "But… I kinda can't go home anymore… My parents wouldn't want me, and Adam has… Had powerful friends in the White Fang…"

"Okay, this is going to sound kinda cruel, but you should probably worry about that later," Bumblebee replied, "The Decepticons are on their way to the Ark, and if they get there before I can wake up Optimus…" He sighed. " _Everyone_ on this planet will die."

"Where do you need to go?" one of the White Fang defectors asked.

"Vytal," Bumblebee answered.

"I know where we parked the Bullheads!" the defector replied as he took off his mask and lowered his hood, "Hell, I can fly you out there myself! Name's Crimson!"

Crimson had a head full of curly red hair, blue eyes, and two ram-like horns on the side of his head.

"You uh…" Ruby's voice trailed off.

"Look like Adam?" Crimson interrupted, "Yeah, he was _not_ amused the first time he saw my face."

"I can help too!" River said as he removed his own mask, revealing all eight of his eyes.

"Yeah… No," another Faunus said as she grabbed River's arm, "Atlesian soldiers were bad enough, I am _not_ letting you go against the freaks who murdered my brother!"

"There is another way you could help out," Bumblebee replied as he projected a holographic image of an insectoid robot, "The Decepticons somehow tapped into your communications. It had to have happened recently if nobody's noticed that they were bugged."

"... Very literally," Ruby observed.

"... They only check Patch's relay tower when we have signal issues," Yang pointed out, "And there's no _way_ they could've gotten close to Beacon Tower without blowing their cover!"

"In that case, I'll be going with Bumblebee and Crimson to Vytal," Blake declared, "Everyone who doesn't want to come can head to the relay tower and message me when the bug's taken care of."

"Then I'll be able to let Ozpin know about the _Ark_ 's location, and we can catch the Decepticons off guard!" Yang announced.

"Okay, in that case, here's the plan-" Bumblebee started.

* * *

[BGM~Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70ZDrzvdzs)

* * *

In the end, only Yang, Ruby, and Blake went with Bumblebee and Crimson to Vytal. As the two Bullheads took flight, Yang gripped her injury.

"I'd very much prefer it that you two go deal with the bug," Bumblebee stated, already in motorcycle mode.

"Sorry Bee," Yang replied as Ruby put a hand on her shoulder, "But you already talked way too many people out of tagging along for the more important mission."

"This isn't your war," Bumblebee insisted.

"The fact that it's our world on the line says otherwise," Yang shot back.

"It's a little too late to turn back anyways," Crimson replied. Ruby noticed how Blake's face fell at that comment.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I guess we could drop you off on the way to Vytal," Ruby stated, "The Decepticons are a lot more dangerous than your run-of-the-mill Grimm."

"That's… Not the issue," Blake replied, "It's… Just…" She sighed. "It's stupid, I…"

"Blake, we've got all day until we get to Vytal," Yang stated as Blake's voice trailed off again. Blake took a deep breath.

"It just hit me that Adam's not going to be a part of my life anymore," she stated, "And I miss him already…"

"Why?" Ruby asked, "From what little I saw, he was awful to you."

"If I had to guess, it's because he was a big part of her life for a long time, so it feels weird now that he's gone," Bumblebee cut in, "Is that right?"

"Yeah… Actually," Blake replied, "How did you-"

"Let's just say that I've been in your tires before."

"... What?"

"I think he's trying to say that he's been in your position before," Yang clarified, "Honestly, we've got all day to just, chat and get to know each other before we face the Decepticons.

"Actually, when was the last time you got some sleep?" Bumblebee asked.

"... Does passing out after getting stabbed by Winter count?" Yang asked.

"No."

"Getting tranquilized in a dark room under a bright light?"

"I _knew_ I heard a scream while I was handcuffed in the back of Winter's airship!" Ruby remarked.

"... Get some sleep, both of you," Bumblebee ordered, "You won't be helping anyone if you pass out before you bring Optimus out of stasis." Yang sighed and sat down against a metal wall next to Ruby, who was very quick to lean against her and pass out.

"Wake me when we get there," she requested as she tried to figure out how not to disturb Ruby.

And so, the Bullhead soared towards Vytal, and the rising sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That scene with Sienna Khan was actually the last scene I wrote for this chapter. Originally, Yang and Ruby were going to finish patching Bumblebee up last chapter, but Yang getting ready to repair Bumblebee just worked too well as a closing point.  
> With just two chapters left, anyone who's listened to "This Will be the Day" would know that "New Solutions" are always followed by "Bloody Evolution". See you next time!


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